EVERGREEN PARK — Barraco's will reopen its flagship restaurant Tuesday at 3701 W. 95th St. in Evergreen Park.
The restaurant was destroyed by a fire that started in a roaster Sept. 24, 2016. No one was injured in the fire that shuttered the busy restaurant, bar and banquet hall.
Owners of the chain promised to rebuild and did so by expanding into the neighboring Naples Bakery, according to Daniela Barraco, a manager of the Italian restaurant chain with seven locations.
The bar in Evergreen Park was moved to the south end of the building as part of the rebuild. The dining area was shifted to the north side, facing 95th Street, Barraco said. The kitchen was also expanded and will soon become the main hub for deliveries.
The kitchen at the Mount Greenwood location briefly served as the chain's hub in the wake of the fire. Then a larger kitchen was built at Barraco's Cafe at 2105 W. 95th St. in Beverly. The new kitchen was paired with a 50-seat restaurant.
The modest cafe will remain open in Beverly, but the primary kitchen for deliveries will move back to Evergreen Park in the coming days, Barraco said.
Meanwhile, the kitchen in Beverly will also soon be paired with a banquet hall called "The Vineyard." The chain has already begun some modest construction to renovate an adjacent building the previously operated as both a library and funeral parlor.
Converting this structure into a banquet hall will become Barraco's primary focus once Evergreen Park is up and running, Barraco said.
I think we all could use a little more of this in our lives... pic.twitter.com/glz6tYUDTJ
— Barracos (@BarracosPizza) July 20, 2017
