The restaurant group that opened Davanti Enoteca at the District 1860 multi-use development in Lincolnwood seven months ago is closing it to open another of its eateries, Mia Francesca, in the same location, according to the business. Davanti Enoteca’s last day of business was Aug. 3.
Chief Operating Officer Jaysen Euler said the restaurant group, Scott Harris Hospitality, had seen a shift in momentum after the restaurant group renovated its first Mia Francesca restaurant in Lakeview earlier this year. To keep up with the momentum, Davanti Enoteca had for months incorporated some of Mia Francesca’s biggest crowd-pleaser dishes, like the pollo arrosto alla romana, to its menu, and those became great sellers at Davanti Enoteca, Euler said. The restaurant group decided in July that the location would benefit from turning into a Mia Francesca because patrons might be familiar with the offerings.
“I feel like (Francesca’s) is a little more approachable. It’s still a simple, rustic, Italian, and has a little bit less of the esoteric ingredients that you might have seen on the Davanti Enoteca menu,” Euler said. “We want to give our customer base what they want. Apparently, that’s what they want, so that’s what we plan on giving them.”
Much of the décor at Davanti Enoteca will stay the same, except for new china and glassware, Euler said. The restaurant’s employees will be retained and continue to work at Francesca’s. The seating arrangement for 160 people is to remain the same. Davanti Enoteca’s focaccias will continue to be sold at the Lincolnwood location and will rolled out to other Francesca’s locations as well.
The Bloody Mary bar for brunch will be swapped out for a Bubbles Bar on the brunch menu, which will allow guests to prepare their own bottomless mimosas and sparkling beverages. Guests will be able to customize their drinks with berries, purees and juices of their choice. The Bloody Mary will still be on the drink menu.
Scott Harris Hospitality also sold a Davanti Enoteca location it had operated in San Diego in late 2023, which Euler said was an opportunity that made sense financially. Davanti Enoteca will continue to operate in Western Springs and Naperville and those restaurants are “performing well,” Euler said.
“We really received positive reviews out of the gate (with Davanti Enoteca). What we’ve seen is when we added some of those Francesca’s dishes that they’ve been really well received and become leading menu items on the menu, so that’s really helped drive us towards the transition. We’ve seen people ask for bread service, and that’s something we’ve provided if requested, but moving towards the Francesca’s model that will be something we offer to every table,” Euler said.
The Francesca’s menu will have seasonal antipasti dishes that will change on a weekly or so basis. The opening week’s antipasti will have a prosciutto and melon dish, insalata asparagi and peapod salad.
Francesca’s opened for service Aug. 8 at 4 p.m. Euler said that the restaurant will not do an elaborate grand opening for it. The restaurant’s hours will be Monday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 4 to 9 p.m., as well as hours for Saturday and Sunday brunch service which begin at 11 a.m. The address is 4436 W. Touhy, Lincolnwood.
