New restaurant means new look for old building in Wheeling
The family that intends to open an Indian restaurant on the site of a long-vacant eatery in Wheeling has proposed significant exterior changes and other improvements.
Ahara is planned for 550 S. Milwaukee Ave., along the village’s Restaurant Row. The roughly 7,700-square-foot building has been unused since Tuscany closed in 2022.
Bolingbrook restaurateur Arun Sharma and his family are behind the operation. They run Indian Garden Chicago, in the Streeterville neighborhood, and Mantra by Indian Garden, in Schiller Park.
Plans call for Tuscany’s Spanish-style facade to be replaced by a different design. A decorative fountain that would be northeast of the building entrance is among the proposed additions, documents indicate.
Additionally, windows, light fixtures, the clay roof tiles and landscaping would be removed or replaced, documents indicate.
A covered entrance is planned, too, as is a sunroom on the north side of the building and outdoor dining areas on the south side.
Wheeling’s plan commission, which advises the village board on development issues, is scheduled to review the proposal Tuesday night. That session is set for 6:30 p.m. at village hall, 2 Community Blvd.
A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for Tuesday night, too. That’s necessary because the proposed fountain requires a variance from village building codes.
The village board will have the final say on the proposed changes.
rlissau@dailyherald.com