A 'Leona's Lite' of sorts comes to Algonquin
For all of you Leona's restaurant lovers out there, a new business along the Randall Road corridor might taste a little familiar.
Michael Lux, who helped run the Leona's restaurants in Chicago for many years, opened Pranzo Pizzeria in Algonquin with his partner and childhood friend George Suarez about six weeks ago.
The new Algonquin eatery at 777 S. Randall Road has a few of Lux's favorite creations from Leona's, as well as recipes from his own family, he said.
"It's basically kind of what I would call a mini-Leona's with pizza, salads, sandwiches and appetizers. It's very simple," Lux said.
"We're trying to do things on the healthier side. We have the fryer for only one or two items on the menu. We're trying to encourage people to have a pasta, salad or soup on the side with their sandwich. We do offer fries though," he said. "It's not that much harder to make food good and good for you and that's what we're trying to do."
He added that no matter what the customer orders, they will love the taste of the homemade food.
"I do pretty much make everything from scratch, so that's how we're different than some of the other Italian chain restaurants you might find on Randall Road," Lux said.
Lux said his specialty is the bruschetta. Another favorite includes the extra-large mozzarella sticks, similar to what you'd find at Leona's.
He also makes a fresh eggplant Parmesan that he says customers are raving about.
And for all of you Italian beef lovers out there, they make their own beef in-house, roasting it to perfection each day, he said.
The restaurant offers dine-in, carryout and delivery.
It seats 45 people, and the owners try to interact with everyone that comes in.
They wait the tables themselves, and are trying to get to know the guests and create a rapport in this area.
Lux and Suarez have known each other for 44 years.
They met when they were both four years old and Suarez moved in across the street from Lux in Mount Prospect.
"He was the first person I met," Suarez said. "We've been friends for years.
"We decided it was time to go into business together," he said.
Pranzo is closed on Mondays, and open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The location - on the east side of Randall, in the back of a strip center - is kind of a hard to spot to find, Lux said. But he says anyone who seeks them out will find the journey was well worth it.
For information call (847) 458-4500.
Egg-stras: Just in time for Easter, Learning Express along Randall Road in Geneva Commons is offering a personalized bucket for all of your Easter loot.
While supplies last, you can get the free bucket at their Bunny Buffet and have it personalized with any $25 purchase.
It's the perfect place to hold all of those cute little chicks and bunnies that you get for your little friends this Easter.
• Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from Batavia to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or (847) 894-5036.