Italian restaurant in Cary plans for mid-October opening

CARY – When 750 Cucina Rustica opens in downtown Cary, co-owner Sallie LoBue said she hopes people will come to enjoy family time, a date, a celebration or unwind after work.

The Italian restaurant will feature a 750-degree brick oven and plans to open in mid-October at 7 Jandus Road, which was previously occupied by Galati’s restaurant, LoBue said.

The 3,300-square-foot space is undergoing a $300,000 renovation, LoBue said. When finished, it will have a "rustic Italian" theme, LoBue said, with custom wainscoting with reclaimed wood from Barn Wood Studio in Crystal Lake.

“We’ve designed it with the intent to be very family-friendly, and I think just the design of the space is conducive to that,” LoBue said.

Separated from the main dining area, which seats about 96, is a video gaming space that will have five terminals, and a bar with an entrance off Spring Street.

LoBue will operate the restaurant with her husband, Massimo LoBue; father-in-law, Filippo LoBue; and mother-in-law, Antonia LoBue.

The family is also part-owners of Incontro A Tavola in South Barrington and ZaZa's Tavola Italiana in Lake Barrington, Sallie LoBue said.

Sallie LoBue’s husband and in-laws all were born in Italy and have a large influence on the food.

The menu is designed around the brick oven, and will include pizza and pasta dishes, some served in the cast-iron bakeware they were cooked in, Sallie LoBue said. Items including baked rigatoni, short rib ragu and arancini also will be on the menu.

“A lot of the stuff is really just food we’ve grown up with,” Sallie LoBue said.

The restaurant will have a staff of about 22 people and start off being open for dinner. In the spring, the restaurant will likely expand to lunch hours and open its outside dining space off Spring Street, Sallie LoBue said.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Cary Village Board unanimously approved outdoor seating at the restaurant and a liquor license. Trustee Rick Dudek said he was remaining consistent with not supporting video gaming in the village, and was the sole no vote to allowing video gaming at the establishment.

At the Committee of the Whole meeting before the village board meeting, officials discussed the village’s revolving loan program, which has not been used since 2006.

Staff presented a new recapture strategy plan for the program to the board, which will then have to be approved by the State of Illinois before coming back to the village board for official approval, Cary Director of Community Development Brian Simmons said.

The restaurant is asking for a $125,000 loan that would be paid back monthly in a seven-year term with interest, according to city documents.