Wheeling restaurant renovation to get $225,000 grant from village

An extensive renovation of a restaurant at the Westin Chicago North Shore hotel in Wheeling will get a big financial boost from the village.

The village board on Monday unanimously approved a $225,000 grant for proposed improvements at Saranello’s, 601 N. Milwaukee Ave. The business, which is part of the Lettuce Entertain You group, is the hotel’s anchor restaurant.

The estimated $767,604 renovation of Saranello’s event and banquet facilities will be the first major remodel there since it opened in 2011.

The work will be done in two phases, with the first to begin immediately, Wheeling Economic Development Director Len Becker told the village board during a brief presentation Monday.

The first phase will focus on a ballroom and will include new flooring, ceiling panels and decorative elements, among other changes. It’s expected to cost $170,350, documents indicate.

The second phase will begin later this year and will focus on the private event and bar areas on the second floor. The bar will be reconfigured to increase seating capacity; bridal and groom suites will be upgraded; and changes will be implemented to better connect the restaurant and hotel event facilities. Phase two is expected to cost $597,254.

Becker called the project “a great investment for not only Saranello’s but also the village and the adjacent Westin hotel.”

The grant approved Monday will come from the village’s Restaurant, Entertainment & Retail Build-Out program, which reimburses business or property owners for up to half the cost of a renovation or improvement project.

Grants of up to $225,000 are available. They’re limited to commercial buildings within Wheeling’s tax increment financing districts, which use property tax revenue to raise money for public improvements.

Funds are distributed when work is completed.