Reps from the Roosevelt Collection continue their efforts to improve dining in the South Loop as a new Italian restaurant should open this fall in the development that includes the ShowPlace ICON Theatre. Pacino’s Classic Italian is slated for an October debut, replacing Mago Grill & Cantina at 1010 S. Delano Court. Pacino’s chef, Michael Serratore, was the chef at Trattoria Isabella, a West Loop Italian restaurant that closed in 2016.
Serratore is determined to flourish in the South Loop, a neighborhood often maligned by its residents for a lack of restaurants: “We need some quality food, like the Gold Coast, like the North Side,” Serratore said.
“The South Loop is going to happen sooner or later,” he added.
Pacino’s will be a family-friendly Italian restaurant with 335 seats and a private dining room for 150. There’s also an outdoor area with a pergola. They’ve transformed the space to make it feel like Serratore’s native Italy. He’s Sicilian.
The risotto may be Pacino’s signature dish, as Serratore said it’s a labor-intensive item. The menu will also feature plenty of seafood and fresh pasta. Sample dishes include Bucatini Bolognese with Sicilian sausage in a tomato meat sauce; Ivoltini di Pollo with goat cheese-stuffed chicken breast, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, vodka sauce, and mixed vegetables; and Neapolitan-style pizzas. Serratore prefers to lean to traditional cuisine, but he’ll try to modernize a few dishes, to perhaps make gravies a little lighter where he can. There’s a bar with 16 draft lines and also 15 bottles of beer available.
Serratore has almost three decades of experience with restaurants. Most recently, he worked in Florida at Bella Vita in Fort Myers. The life of a Florida man wasn’t for Serratore. He said the pace was slow and he yearned to be back in bustling Chicago.
The price of real estate will force more restaurant owners to consider opening in the South Loop, Serratore said. North Side neighborhoods don’t offer good values in terms of rents. Serratore also wants to keep his menu affordable so diners can eat at the restaurant multiple times a week.
In June, reps from the Roosevelt Collection announced a barbecue restaurant, Lucky Well, would open in the development. Marketing coordinator Ashley Paprock said they should have one more restaurant announcement by the end of the year.