When a downtown loses its Italian dinner spot and its pizzeria in the same year, the usual worry is that outsiders will fill the spaces, or that nobody will. Western Springs is getting a different outcome. The two restaurant spaces changing hands this fall, 800 Hillgrove Avenue and 821 Burlington Avenue, are going to operators who already run restaurants here or a few exits west. The food in both rooms will change. The people behind them are already known in town.
That pattern is worth following, because it shapes what downtown will look like by Small Business Saturday, and it holds for the smaller openings that came before it.
800 Hillgrove: a new concept from the same group
The Village's September/October 2026 newsletter says the restaurant space at 800 Hillgrove, where Davanti Enoteca operates, is expected to become Vasili's in November. The newsletter calls Vasili's a restaurant serving Mediterranean dishes "handed down through generations." It also says that while Davanti "will be missed," Vasili's runs under the same company, Scott Harris Hospitality.
So this is a format change inside the same hospitality group, not a sale to a stranger. It is also a concept with a track record. Scott Harris Hospitality already runs a Vasili's at 135 Water Street in Naperville and lists its food as Greek and Mediterranean. The Vasili's website describes hearth-inspired dishes built on family recipes, and its current menu includes spreads, Greek dishes, and hearth-grilled meats and seafood.
For anyone who has a standing table at 800 Hillgrove, the timing matters. The Village frames November as the target and says grand-opening news is still coming. Davanti Enoteca's own Western Springs page still lists hours, a menu, and a reservation link. If you want one more dinner there, call ahead. Hours and reservation details for the Western Springs Vasili's haven't been posted yet. The ones online now are for Naperville.
821 Burlington: a pizzeria space goes upscale under a local owner
Two blocks over, the story is the same with a different operator. Patch reported in late July that Alano Ristorante is planned for 821 Burlington Avenue, the space Salerno's Pizzeria left in early January. The owner is Chris Elsey, who runs the Hillgrove Tap locations in Western Springs and Tinley Park. Patch reported that he hoped to open in late October.
The space is being reworked for a different kind of meal. The Village newsletter describes Alano as a full-service, elegant Italian restaurant serving appetizers, salads, pastas, pizza, fish, chicken, and steaks. It says remodeling is underway, with plans to upgrade the existing special-event space. Patch's account of Elsey's plans also includes a bar and keeps the event room. The Alano website names Massimo Salatino as Chef and Partner and still says only "Opening this fall," with no hours or reservations posted yet.
Pizza stays at this address in some form. In August, WhatNow reported that pasta and pizza were expected and that a full menu would come closer to opening. The bigger change is the kind of night out the space is built for.
The two swaps side by side
| 800 Hillgrove Avenue | 821 Burlington Avenue | |
|---|---|---|
| What was there | Davanti Enoteca | Salerno's Pizzeria, closed early January |
| What's coming | Vasili's, Mediterranean | Alano Ristorante, Italian |
| Who runs it | Scott Harris Hospitality, which also runs Davanti | Chris Elsey, owner of Hillgrove Tap |
| Already operating nearby | Vasili's at 135 Water St., Naperville | Hillgrove Tap, Western Springs |
| Stated timing | Expected in November | Owner hoped for late October; website says "this fall" |
Read across the table and the pattern holds. Neither space sat waiting for an unknown tenant. Each one is going to an operator who already has a business downtown or in a sister suburb.
The shops that opened first follow the same pattern
The retail openings ahead of the restaurants point the same way. On August 28 the Village held a ribbon cutting for The Clever Drinker, a wine-focused shop at 4354 Johnson Avenue. The newsletter describes it as a specialty retailer, concierge, and curator. The Village notes that the owners are local to Western Springs and invite shoppers to "pull up a seat" while they find a bottle to take home. A shop on Johnson Avenue with a seat-and-taste setup gives the neighborhood a place for a glass before dinner that it didn't have this summer.
A week later, on September 4, the Village cut the ribbon for Moderation, a women's clothing boutique at 820 Hillgrove Avenue. That address is next door to 800 Hillgrove, so by November one short stretch of Hillgrove will have a new boutique beside a new restaurant.
More rooms to gather in
Downtown is also adding rooms that groups can book for private events.
The Theatre of Western Springs celebrated the reopening of its main lobby and gathering space on September 3, and the Village notes the space can be rented for special events. Alano's plans include upgrading the special-event room at 821 Burlington. If you're planning a retirement dinner, a team party, or a family celebration over the holidays, those are two more downtown options than there were in summer.
What's on downtown while the new kitchens get ready
The restaurant openings are still on their way. The theater and village calendars are already set, and the next few weeks have plenty to fill them.
- Opening night of Working, Thursday, October 22, through November 1. The Theatre of Western Springs runs the musical on the Lou & Nancy Schauer Mainstage Theatre, with an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, October 31, at 2 p.m. Tickets and details are on the theater's site.
- Trick-or-treating, Saturday, October 31, 2 to 8 p.m. These are the Village's posted hours, which overlap with that afternoon's ASL matinee. See the Village calendar.
- Dinosaur Ranger Academy, Wednesday, November 4, 4 to 5 p.m. Held in the Program Room at Thomas Ford Memorial Library.
- Macbeth, November 6 to 8. The theater's High School Rep company performs it at the Mary Cattell Theatre. Details here.
- Pumpkin Smash Composting Event, Saturday, November 7, 9 a.m. to noon. In the St. John of the Cross Parish School parking lot, according to the Village's November calendar.
- Radio Gaga, Saturday, November 21, 7:30 p.m. A Queen and Lady Gaga tribute on the Schauer Mainstage. Details here.
- Small Business Saturday, November 28. It's marked in the Village newsletter, which also notes that sign-up for decorating a tree on the Tower Green opened October 12.
If both restaurants hit their stated targets, Small Business Saturday will be the first one where Vasili's, Alano, The Clever Drinker, and Moderation are all open at once.
We live and work in these western suburbs, and we keep track of which storefronts are changing hands and who's moving in. If you'd like to talk about how downtown Western Springs is shifting, or what a walkable dinner on Hillgrove means for the next home on your list, the Ginny Stewart team would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a Private Consultation.
