Restaurant with cricket simulators gets go-ahead in Wheeling

Plans for a restaurant featuring cricket simulators got the Wheeling village board’s OK Monday night.

Dubbed 604 The Arena, the venue is proposed for the former Buca di Beppo building at 604 N. Milwaukee Ave., on the north side of Wheeling’s Restaurant Row.

A nearly 5,000-square-foot addition to the existing 8,000-square-foot building is proposed.

A centuries-old sport, cricket is becoming more popular in the Chicago area as the South Asian immigrant population grows.

While cricket grounds for live matches have been erected in Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Naperville, Schaumburg and other suburbs, documents indicate 604 The Arena’s commercial simulators will be the first in Illinois.

The business also will feature golf simulators, virtual reality game stations, video gambling, and an arcade for kids, documents indicate.

As for food and beverage options, the main dining area will have room for 80 patrons and a smaller one will have room for 20 people, documents show. A bar and lounge with space for 26 people is planned, too.

The operation is expected to have more than 30 employees.

A company called Hamro Investment Group is behind the plan. The building has been vacant since Buca di Beppo closed in 2023.

After a discussion about parking and other issues, trustees approved a special-use permit and building code variations for the business, as well as permission for a building addition and facade improvements. There were no objections.

There’s a caveat to the deal: No construction permits will be issued until Hamro purchases the parking lot south of the building or reaches an agreement with the current owner to use it.

Manish Chaudhary, Hamro’s managing partner, said he wants to buy the lot but is open to other solutions. “We are still working on it,” he told the board.

Village President Pat Horcher wished Chaudhary luck before the board turned to other business.