The Burger Social restaurateurs to open new dining spots in Wheaton
A new Mexican taco restaurant and a doughnut shop are opening in a downtown Wheaton building redeveloped by the same investor group behind The Burger Social, a nearby dining spot that opened almost a year ago.
Fearless Donuts and The Pacific, featuring "West Coast tacos," will replace three established businesses that maintained a presence on Front Street for decades.
The Wheaton Barber Shop, founded in 1925, moved out of the space and relocated to a Winfield strip mall after the building ownership changed hands. Advanced Eye Care and Laser Center moved about a mile north on Main Street. The third tenant, Wheaton Shoe and Repair, shuttered after 50 years.
The brick building is now shrouded behind construction fencing and tarps. Promotional signs indicate the taco place and the doughnut shop will open in "Spring/Summer 2019." As part of the first stage of a major revitalization of the downtown streetscape, new, wider sidewalks, streetlights and other infrastructure were installed on that block of Front Street.
Nick Roberge and Jack Waters - two restaurateurs who run a bistro and whiskey bar called Barrel+Rye and The Burger Local in Geneva - launched The Burger Social last December in a Hale Street building owned and renovated by Aurora-based developers.
The Wheaton Barber Shop of Winfield, meanwhile, has reopened at 27W460 Chicago Ave., Unit E. Four of the five Wheaton barbers work in the Winfield location, said Bobby Lopez, who bought the shop with his brother Richard in 1996.
Lopez said Wednesday he wishes the new Wheaton building owners well. The barber shop is still adhering to a credo that contributed to 93 years of business, Lopez said.
"Just be kind to people," he said. "That's our thing, and it will all pay off."