New Italian restaurant coming to downtown Arlington Heights
A new Italian-American restaurant is expected to open next month in downtown Arlington Heights, its owners said this week.
Passero, at 5 W. Campbell St., will have a menu inspired by family recipes and other creations of head chef Matt Peota, and be geared to families with kids.
Interior renovations of the storefront space are underway, with a targeted opening date of Oct. 17.
The menu will include a short rib lasagna, made through a slow cooking method, and unique appetizers such as popcorn that tastes like pizza, Peota said.
Beer, wine and about five craft cocktails will also be on the menu, permitted after the restaurant was granted a full service Class A liquor license this week by the village board. Village officials say they will issue the license once renovations are complete, tables and chairs have been installed, and village staff can do a walk through.
Peota's wife, Rikki, has an 85 percent ownership stake in the business, and his father, Scott, has 15 percent.
Rikki and Matt were featured in a 2013 Daily Herald story about their wedding. It was officiated by their former Stevenson High School sociology teacher, Chris Salituro, who paired them together for a project 13 years before.
The new restaurant is in the location of the former Day Go Dogs and 'Za, which closed in May 2016 after a year in business. The building also formerly housed Riviera Restaurant for some three decades.
The Peotas have a lease for the location through May 2020.
Passero will be closed only Mondays, and open at 11 a.m. the rest of the week. It will close at 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. Sundays.