Italian eatery in Huntley closes after eight months

Marsala's Italian Kitchen in Huntley has closed after barely eight months in business.

The Italian bistro opened in November in the remodeled Niko's Grill & Pub building at 11900 Freeman Road. It was pegged as a moderately priced, family-friendly casual restaurant.

"It was absolutely beautiful in there, and the food was really good," said Margo Griffin, Huntley business development coordinator.

Owner Frank Bolos said employees were informed Monday the restaurant was closing.

"Somebody approached us about wanting to use the space for a concept of their own," said Bolos, formerly of Mount Prospect. "We sold our lease to the restaurant group that's going to replace us."

The property, east of Route 47 just north of the Huntley Outlet Center, is owned by Jameson's restaurant group, which operates Jameson's Charhouse at Sun City-Huntley senior living community, and six other restaurants throughout the suburbs, including Crystal Lake and Mount Prospect.

The roughly 30 Marsala's employees have been retained at Jameson's restaurants in Crystal Lake, Bloomingdale, Mount Prospect and Huntley, Bolos said. "Nobody is out of a job," he said. "We did what we thought was right. We loved doing business in Huntley and we had a good run at Marsala's when we were there. But somebody offered us something that made it worth our while to leave."

Jameson's Charhouse, which also does catering for Del Webb's Drendel Ballroom, is doing great, Griffin said.

"Jameson's is in the restaurant business. They have a lot of contacts in the field. They tried this particular concept ... for whatever reasons, it probably didn't meet their expectations," she said.

Griffin said village officials are confident the Marsala's location won't stay vacant for long.

"It's a great location," she said. "They found another operator that hopefully will be a better fit. I believe that it will be a successful restaurant in the future."