Owners of Geneva’s Riganato look to open chicken eatery in town

An 1877 building at 427 E. State St., Geneva, formerly used as office space, will be converted into a dine-in/carry out chicken restaurant to be called HoneyBird.

The Geneva City Council recently awarded a father and son team Nick and Jim Nicolaou $38,608 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for installation of ADA restrooms and a fire alarm. The ARPA funds were set aside for historic preservation and adaptive reuse, officials said.

The conversion to a restaurant will require extensive interior remodeling, structural engineering and site work, along with acquisition, will cost $970,179, officials said.

“It was a Merry Maids building,” Jim Nicolaou said. “They approached us going to sell...It was a pretty fair deal.”

And even though the building dates back to 1877, Nicolaou said, “It’s solid as a rock.”

Running a restaurant is no mystery to the Nicolaous, as they own Riganato Old World Grille at 700 E. State St. in Geneva, featuring European-Mediterranean cuisine. Riganato opened in 2012.

“We are trying to push it as much as we can,” Nicolaou said. “We’re hoping (to open) like spring or summer of 2025.”

The Nicolaous were among a group of economic incentive development agreements of ARPA funds that the City Council recently approved for historic preservation and reuse. ARPA money has to be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, or be sent back to the U.S. Treasury, officials said.