Celebrity chefs break with Wheeling restaurants; eateries remain open, for now

Celebrity chef Rick Tramonto no longer operates the acclaimed Wheeling restaurants that bear his name, and while the eateries continue to serve the menus he developed, that may change in 2009.

"It was a good ride in Wheeling; it didn't go as far as I wanted it to," Tramonto said. "I have a licensing agreement until the end of the year, after that it's up for grabs."

The change follows the breakup of Cenitare, a restaurant development and management group formed by Tramonto; his business partner chef Gale Gand; and Mid-America Development Partners, an Oak Brook developer of high-end properties.

A few months ago, Tramonto asked Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, a Chicago restaurant company known for its hospitality industry savvy, to evaluate operations at Osteria di Tramonto, Tramonto's Steak and Seafood and RT Lounge at the Westin Chicago North Shore.

The downturn in the restaurant industry affected the Wheeling eateries, said Lettuce Entertain You Chairman Richard Melman.

"Sometimes people need a fresh perspective," Melman said. "We gave ourselves to the first of the year to come up with a plan."

Tramonto and Melman have a long history and are partners, along with Gand, in world-class Tru in Chicago.

"These are not Lettuce Entertain You restaurants at this stage," Melman said of the Wheeling spots.

Cenitare opened the Wheeling restaurants in 2006. Then, the plan was to replicate nationwide the Tramonto concepts as well as Gale's Coffee Bar, which closed at the Westin earlier this year.

Locally, another Osteria di Tramonto was slated for The Hotel InterContinental in Rosemont and Tramonto's Steak and Seafood had been pitched for the Hyatt Regency Woodfield in Schaumburg.

Michael Firsel, president of Mid-America Development Partners, said the Cenitare breakup was amicable. He said the Rosemont restaurant will open as Wildfire, a popular Lettuce Entertain You steakhouse concept, and called plans for the Schaumburg space "a work in progress." He said he's consulting with Lettuce Entertain You to determine what might go there and still hopes to open in spring 2009.

Gand could not be reached for comment.

Since parting ways with Cenitare, Tramonto has not been idle. His new book, "Osteria: Hearty Italian Fare from Rick Tramonto's Kitchen," came out earlier this month and plans for a book-signing party and cooking demonstration at Osteria di Tramonto in Wheeling will proceed as planned.

Tramonto said he's still hoping to take his steakhouse idea national and is looking for "city center" sites in Chicago, Las Vegas and New York.