Fuller House brings bar atmosphere to downtown Hinsdale

HINSDALE – Patrons of downtown Hinsdale now have a full-service restaurant and bar they can dine at.

Fuller House, 35 E. First St., opened for business June 23.

“We’re the first bar in town,” co-owner Sam Vlahos said. “I think a lot of people are excited to have that kind of place to come in; [to] grab a bite and have a beer.”

Vlahos, 26, owns the restaurant along with his sister, Patricia Vlahos-Segretto, 29.

Patricia said she likes to think of Fuller House as an upstyle, family friendly restaurant.

The restaurant serves American fare, with an in-house smoker to cook all of the meat it serves.

The bar will have 12 beers on tap, 30 different varieties of bottled beer, a variety of cocktails and an extensive bourbon program.

The decor is a mixture of rustic and modern, with wood beams from St. James Cathedral in Chicago and 12 flat-screen televisions.

The two-story restaurant can seat 130 people, including 22 at the bar. There is also sidewalk seating for 20 during warmer seasons.

Restaurant hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Patricia and Sam grew up in the restaurant business. Their father owned a steakhouse in Lombard for 35 years and a chain of sports bars.

Patricia went to school to study culinary skills, while Sam focused on entrepreneurship.

The siblings own a couple of other restaurants, but Fuller House is their first full-service restaurant.

They purchased Dips and Dogs next to Fuller House and own the Brick’s Woodfire Pizza in Naperville, Wheaton and Lombard.

Patricia and Sam live in nearby Oak Brook and had their eye on downtown Hinsdale for the restaurant.

“We’re really familiar with the town, so we thought it would be the best to do a business in our local town,” Patrica said.

Part of Patricia’s familiarity with Hinsdale comes from her husband, who owns Zazu Salon in downtown Hinsdale.

“We see how loyal their patrons are and how Hinsdale residents love to [patronize] their local businesses,” she said.

In their first week in business, Sam said they already have started to receive positive feedback.

“The people with families are like ‘this is perfect for our family to come in,’” he said.

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Fuller House’s opening menu will feature: small bites (crispy house brined pickles, chicken wings, charcuterie board and jumbo pretzel); salads (arugula fennel, southwest and warm wood fired vegetable); handhelds (brisket tacos, buffalo chicken sandwich and BLT with avocado); hand-packed prime burgers (all American, West Coast burger and red devil); entrees (grilled fish on oak plank, steak frites and roast chicken); sides (crispy brussels sprouts, fresh cut fries and mac and cheese); and dessert (strawberry shortcake, a bourbon milkshake and a cookie skillet). Neapolitan-style pizzas will be baked to order in Fuller House’s wood fired oven.

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