Gino's East to share space at Millrose Restaurant
The owners of Millrose Restaurant Banquets & Country Store in South Barrington are preparing to open a Gino's East franchise on the property in mid-January but without giving up their existing restaurant.
Among the six relocated barns that make up the landmark establishment at 45 S. Barrington Road, the Rosewood Room and lounge area will be converted into space for the famous deep dish pizza restaurant, said Dwight Stiehl, president and CEO of the Rose Packing Co., which owns the Millrose.
A patio roof will be removed to allow for seasonal outdoor dining on the Gino's East side, he added.
"Millrose is still going to stay open in the state in which it has been," Stiehl said. "We're hoping that the area will support this new restaurant. We think it's a good name to add to the area."
Though the Millrose's owners remain confident in the restaurant's original concept, they began to think about ways to add to its appeal after its first 21 years - about six times the life span of a typical eatery, Stiehl said. They began to believe a Gino's East would be a good complementary business, and knew the operators of Chicago-based Bravo Restaurants, Inc., which franchises Gino's East restaurants.
The changes to the Gino's East part of the building won't be extensive - the replacement of carpeting with new floors, the addition of some TVs and the creation of a Chicago feel through photos on the wall. Unlike some Gino's East restaurants, the South Barrington location will not have graffiti on the walls, Stiehl said.
One other change will be to the Millrose Country Store. It's been moved from the barn it's been in to a smaller area near the entrance. There it will return to its original concept as a seller of meat products and wine only.
A grand opening for Gino's is being planned for mid-January, Stiehl said, with a soft opening taking place a few days earlier.
The former president of Rose Packing Company, the late Bill Rose of South Barrington, created the Millrose Restaurant in his hometown by moving six 125-year-old barns from Wisconsin and Michigan to create an atmospheric setting. Rose died in April 2010 at the age of 83.