WICKER PARK — A restaurant offering Italian beef, Chicago style hot dogs, gelato and 30 flavors of "Sno Biz"-brand shaved ice is coming to the ground floor of a purplish pink building on Division Street.
Located at 1709 W. Division St. next to Metro Pizza, Vinny D's hopes to open by early March, its co-owner Derrick Czapla said.
"It's a nice busy area, a good spot," Czapla said of the location, just west of Ashland Avenue and along a stretch of Division Street that both East Village and Wicker Park boosters lay claim.
The restaurant will take over a 1,700 square-foot apartment on the ground level of an 1880s apartment building that's painted a unique mix of bright pink and purple.
Vinny D's will offer shaved and Italian ice from vendor Sno Biz, gelato, hot dogs, Italian beef and sausage, chicken tenders, fries and garden salad, according to the restaurant's Facebook page and a banner on the fence in front of the forthcoming spot.
The father-in-law of Czapla's business partner Vince Vetommaso owns the building, which Czapla said will be repainted a new color as part of a remodeling that will add a new awning and a patio .
Vinny D's draws its name from the owners' names.
"He's the Vinny and I'm the D," Czapla said.
Czapla lives in Schaumburg and Vetommaso lives in Kildeer. The business partners know each other from working in real estate industry together. Vinny D's will be their first foray into the restaurant business, Czapla said.
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