Buffalo Grove trustees soon could decide the future of the Village Bar and Grill, located within the Buffalo Grove Golf Course, after hearing pitches from two businesses offering different concepts for the restaurant.
During a board meeting Monday, the owners of Mambo Italiano in Mundelein proposed taking over the village-owned bar and grill, and turning it into a gastropub for golfers and the general public. Last month Buffalo Grove officials heard from vendor Tap Room Hospitality, which currently operates the Village Bar and Grill, about their plan to upgrade the restaurant with a new, southern theme.
“That would be like a dream for us — to have a restaurant on a golf course,” said Mambo Italiano co-owner Briana Cardone. “Every angle we looked at was just ‘plus, plus, plus.'”
Briana Cardone opened the Italian restaurant, Mambo Italiano, with Salvatore Cardone in 2003 and the two have since added a catering service along with a food-distribution company, Briana Cardone said. The concept they pitched for the Buffalo Grove Golf Course was an eatery called the Wild Buffalo.
They approached village board members who are interested in reviving the Village Bar and Grill at 48 Raupp Boulevard, as the village’s lease with Tap Room Hospitality is set to expire Dec. 31. Village officials, the Cardones and Tap Room representatives have all called the current golf-course restaurant’s look dated.
On Aug. 1, Tap Room representative pitched their idea to turn the place into the Still, featuring barbecue and hamburgers, bourbon whiskey, decorative moonshine stills and other interior upgrades.
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The concept would be modeled off another Still that the Tap Room operates in Bartlett, representatives told village board members.
The Cardones told trustees their menu for the Village Bar and Grill would range from light wraps and sandwiches to a three-cheese buffalo burger, whitefish, salmon and duck entrees.
Briana Cardone said they planned to stay away from their Mundelein restaurant’s Italian fare, in hopes of expanding their customer base.
Tap Room representatives also noted how they would want to expand the banquet room and create a smartphone application for customers that would notify servers of orders. The Cardones said they would downsize the “gigantic” bar at the restaurant and run a golf cart loaded with their wraps, chips and drinks from hole to hole on the golf course.
Village President Beverly Sussman said officials only are considering concepts from these two businesses for the restaurant’s next lease. The board could make a decision later this fall, she said.
Both businesses said they plan to make at least $100,000 in renovations.
During the Sept. 12 meeting, Village Manager Dane Bragg said the village would spend its own money upgrading the ventilation and other parts of the building, but he cautioned that the cost would depend on what concept is selected.
“We need to understand the architectural and construction piece,” Bragg said. “It’s September, but it will soon be December.”
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