‘Time for a change’: La Tasca Tapas in Arlington Heights to close, reopen as Greek restaurant

La Tasca Tapas, long a presence in downtown Arlington Heights, will close at the end of February before retooling and reopening as Paréa Greek Kitchen.

La Tasca, which means “local gathering place” in Spanish, has been serving hot and cold small plates, paella and homemade sangria at the corner of Davis Street and Vail Avenue since 1996.

Co-owner Peter Sarantopoulos said while the restaurant has a loyal following, business never quite recovered after the pandemic.

“It’s pretty much time for a change,” Sarantopoulos said Thursday. “We’ve been here for 28 years. Things settle down. The business is not as strong as it should be. Especially after the pandemic, business really never came back the way it was supposed to.”

La Tasca will serve its last meal Feb. 28 before renovations begin for the new Greek restaurant, which will involve new signage and awnings, repainting and other cosmetic changes, Sarantopoulos said.

Paréa — meaning a gathering of friends and family in Greek — is expected to open weeks later with all the bells and whistles of a restaurant you might find in Greektown. That means flaming cheese served tableside, among other classic dishes, Sarantopoulos said.

The owners are aiming to fill a void in Arlington Heights following the closure of Yanni’s Greek Restaurant at Arlington Heights and Algonquin roads in 2012. Nostimo Greek Kitchen, a fast casual Greek restaurant with drive-through, opened last year at 286 W. Rand Road, but Sarantopoulos described Paréa as full-service, sit-down fine dining.

It’ll be the first Greek restaurant for Sarantopoulos, who grew up in Greece, and his business partner Danny Barbarigos, who also has Greek heritage. They got their start in the restaurant business working for fellow Dining Out Enterprises investor Jimmy Panagakis’ Jimmy’s Charhouse. They later went on to open Johnny’s Kitchen & Tap in Glenview and Draft Picks in Mount Prospect and Naperville, among other ventures.

“We’ve been in restaurants all our lifetime,” Sarantopoulos said. “From working the front, working the kitchen. Every single job, we have done it.”

La Tasca came about as Sarantopoulos and Barbarigos looked for a unique restaurant concept in the Northwest suburbs.

“Pretty much it was very simple: We know the kitchen,” Sarantopoulos said. “So we decided to open a Spanish tapas restaurant.”

He admits many La Tasca regulars are upset about the forthcoming closure since the restaurant broke the news in an email blast and on social media. But he also believes that others are looking forward to something new, and a change in concept could help fill the dining room’s 200 seats.

The owners are planning to hire more staff, and will operate for lunch and dinner seven days a week, whereas they’re only open for lunch on weekends now.

“For the most part, people want new things,” Sarantopoulos said. “People want something new.”