Barrington's Remember Charlotte's pizzeria to reopen in Kooker's old spot
Remember Charlotte's pizzeria will reopen on Northwest Highway in Barrington after leaving the village's downtown earlier this year.
Co-owner Brian McManus Jr. said a chance to buy the building where Kooker's operated for 28 years at 301 W. Northwest Highway prompted the decision to leave downtown Barrington in January. Known for hamburgers, Italian beef sandwiches, gyros and milkshakes, Kooker's departed for Lake Zurich in 2018.
McManus said the plan is for family-friendly Remember Charlotte's to debut in the new location in mid-July. He said the spot should be good for business because it has its own parking lot and proximity to busy Langendorf Park.
"Obviously, I love the fact (the building) is on Northwest Highway and gets the traffic that we do," McManus said. "Being as close as we are to the park district with the amount of Little League teams, soccer teams, men's softball teams, women's volleyball teams that we used to have at our old location, it just made a lot of sense."
McManus and his wife, Dena, launched their eatery in rented space at 205 Park Ave. in 2017 and named it for long-closed Charlotte's Pizza, which was a Barrington institution. McManus, a lifelong Barrington resident, grew up going with his family to Charlotte's every week.
Extensive interior and exterior renovations are occurring to transform the former Kooker's into Remember Charlotte's. McManus said a custom kitchen will feature a "crazy state-of-the-art oven" with four conveyors capable of baking 96 pizzas per hour.
"Once you dial in the pizza and your recipe, this oven really doesn't make any mistakes," said McManus, who still works as an attorney.
Remember Charlotte's will need a new liquor license to operate in the Northwest Highway building. Barrington village board members are expected to consider the license application this month.
Original Charlotte's opened on Northwest Highway at Ela Road in 1934 and closed in 1989 to make room for an intersection widening. The unpretentious joint was considered hallowed ground for thin-crust pizza enthusiasts.