Lena’s Social Club in Dixon reopens for delivery, curbside pickup

DIXON – Lena’s Social Club has reopened for delivery and curbside pickup in Dixon.

Owners Heather and Greg Huffman had planned to open the restaurant and bar in February. However, extensive renovations to the former Mama Cimino’s building at 104 S. Peoria Ave. started to surpass initial projections, forcing the couple to temporarily close while they took time to strategize.

“There were so many problems with this building,” Heather said. “We took it down to the studs. At one point we had three trenches dug in here. It was a mess. We’ve had so many unexpected things come up, and things that cost way more than we ever thought. We put a lot of our money into this, and we are not wealthy people.”

Thankfully, the Huffmans were able to work with their financial lender and reopened March 6 for delivery and curbside pickup.

Heather said their banquet room currently is available to rent for private events, and they are hoping to have the last of the renovations to the main dining area and bar completed by April. They also are working on an upstairs wedding event center, the Huffman, which they plan to open in 2027.

“Now it’s just a matter of scheduling with our contractors so they can get back to work,” Heather said. “Business has been booming since we’ve reopened. The outpour of support we’ve received from the community has been even more than before we closed, and we can’t thank everyone enough.”

Lena’s offers pizza and “affordable upscale comfort food,” such as stuffed baked potatoes, burgers, handheld sandwiches, salads, soups and its signature dish, the Social Roll.

“We take our pizza dough and we flatten it, put in fried chicken, cheese and then different kinds of sauces and fillings,” Heather said. “Then, we roll them up, slice them, and then people can dip them in our Lena Social sauce. This menu is the result of Greg and I going out to eat at a lot of different places and thinking about what our favorite foods were, and putting them all on one menu.”

The Huffmans, who originally are from Dixon, were living in Kansas City when they decided to return home and follow their dream.

“If someone would have told me I’d own a restaurant one day, I would have laughed,” Heather said. “Greg has all the knowledge having been in restaurants for 25 years. Before this, I was managing a huge insurance call center.”

Heather said the decision to leave the corporate world behind has been “extremely fulfilling.”

“I’ve always loved entertaining and creating comfortable spaces for people,” Heather said. “I love serving people a great meal, and I want this to be a place where everybody feels welcome.”

Lena’s is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Heather said there will be expanded hours once dine-in is available.

For more information or to place an order, call 779-207-3981.