New businesses popping up in Roselle

Four new locally backed businesses, including three restaurants and a grocery store, are setting up shop within weeks of each other this fall in Roselle.

The establishments will generate more sales tax revenue and give residents more local food options, Village President Gayle Smolinski said.

“Our residents really do want to shop and keep their business in our village,” she said. “These venues will also bring people into Roselle and then they can see what else we have to offer.”

Roselle-area residents are behind all four new ventures. Jeff Castrovillari is the owner JC's Market & Cafe, which opened last week. The owners of Impecca restaurant, John Gianforte and Frank Skaja, opened Morning Glory breakfast cafe earlier this month and will unveil Vida, a Latin dinner venue, next week.

Local developer Todd Eicholz is behind the Cornerstone shopping center where Tilted Kilt restaurant and sports bar will open in about two weeks.

Vida and Glory

Although Vida and Morning Glory serve dramatically different fare, they are side-by-side near the intersection of Main and Prospect streets in downtown. The eateries are situated in the old Roselle Deli site, which was vacant for about six months. It is now divided in two by the breakfast and dinner venues.

“They are making great use of the same kitchen,” Smolinski said.

Morning Glory is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily and Vida, which will offer small-plate Latin fusion dishes, will open on the other side of the building at 4 p.m. Its opening is tentatively slated for next week, Smolinski said.

JC's Market & Cafe

JC's opened late this month in Cross Creek Commons Shopping Center at Nerge and Plum Grove roads, in the 24,000-square-foot site of the former Super Low Foods.

Castrovillari said his store will bring nearly 30 new jobs to the area and he hopes the business will be the last in a series to open and close at the same site.

“It's been a challenge here and we're hoping we are the last ones to make a go of it,” said Castrovillari. “We think what was here before maybe was not what people wanted.”

He added that his staff conducted a market study and learned about 50 percent of grocery dollars are being spent outside Roselle.

JC's aims to concentrate on a large food selection that includes both common and specialty items, such as organic and gluten-free, so shoppers can avoid making two trips to upscale and mainstream grocers.

Other central elements include meals like meatloaf and pork roast for under $6, rotating cuisines like Italian and Latin for each night of the week, and Friday wine nights that offer a new wine with a special introductory price.

“We are not going to be a store that tries to be everything to everybody, carrying everything from food to tires,” Castrovillari said. “We want to bring the focus back to food and customer service and we want to make this a fun environment where you can find some unusual items.”

Tilted Kilt

In about two weeks, Roselle will also welcome Tilted Kilt, an 11,224-square-foot restaurant that general manager Jim DeSalvo calls an “English-Irish-Scottish-American sports pub.”

The eatery will be in the Cornerstone shopping center at the intersection of Lake Street and Gary Avenue.

The venue will feature a patio, fireplace, 60 large-screen TVs and four high-definition projection screens for sports fans, DeSalvo said.

Tilted Kilt will seat 574 customers in the restaurant and bar, which is the largest seating of any of the chain's locations in the country. There are six Illinois locations that include Elgin and Woodridge.

The Roselle location will also feature a backroom to host live music.

DeSalvo describes Tilted Kilt as the “best-looking sports pub in America,” not only because of its sleek TV screens but, he says, “because of the Kilt girls and the uniform they wear.”