Paprikash to close; new Italian eatery to open up

Even in a touch economy, people eat out at Italian restaurants, according to Mike Clements.

Clements is closing Paprikash, a Hungarian restaurant at Northwest Highway and Euclid Avenue, on Saturday. Paprikash was one of the very few Hungarian restaurants in the suburbs.

The mourning period is a short one.

On Aug, 2 Clements will open Clementi's - an Italian restaurant at the same location. Clementi's will offer a full bar and Italian dishes ranging in price from $8 to about $20, he said. There will also be four large-screen televisions.

Paprikash opened in the former Rapp's spot in March 2006. The menu featured authentic Hungarian food as well as some German and Polish dishes. The restaurant had high ceilings and a trio that played European music on the weekends. There were paintings of Hungarian sites on golden-hued walls, pendant lights in red and green brightened the room and mismatched hurricane lamps sat on white-clothed tables.

Clements will have do to do some redecorating.

"I'm taking down the Hungarian pictures and putting up Italian ones," he said.

Clements is Italian and said he's looking forward to getting back to his roots. His father changed his name from "Clementi" to "Clements" when he served in the military. "He was told he'd have to pay extra to change it back, so he kept Clements," he said.

I could've figured this one out: You'd think after a business was busted for prostitution, that would be it. Arlington Heights officials would ban those arrested from doing business in the village again.

However, Singapore Salon, 308 E. Golf Road, was raided last week and six were arrested for prostitution, including the store's manager. In 2001, the same salon was raided and the same salon manager - Kil Sun Fara - was arrested for prostitution.

Well, here's how that happened, according to Village Manager Bill Dixon.

A few months after the village board voted to rescind Singapore's license in 2001, a new owner, with a clean record, applied for a business license, Dixon said. The business license was reissued.

Then the owner rehired Fara. No one knows for sure when the place got back in the prostitution business, but I would guess it might not have been very long, considering Fara has yet another prostitution arrest in California.

"I guess they massaged the system," said Trustee Joe Farwell at a committee meeting on Monday.

Very funny.

Sure village officials had no way of knowing a new owner would be brazen enough to reopen with the same employees in the same store. But the new owner did keep the exact same name - Singapore Salon. That should've been a clue.

So, not so funny.

• Sheila Ahern covers Arlington Heights. She can be reached at (847) 427-4563 or via e-mail at sahern@dailyherald.com.