Italian restaurant Piccolo Buco is bringing flavors from Rome to Naperville.
The restaurant, located at 456 Illinois Route 59, held a ribbon cutting on Saturday ahead of its grand opening on Monday, Aug. 25, at Block 59.
“We knew that Naperville is one of our most successful Cooper’s Hawk restaurants. With this new development taking place, we knew that Naperville would just love what we were doing at Piccolo, so it worked out fantastic,” said Tim McEnery, founder of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants and Piccolo Buco.
Restaurant concept from Rome
The original Piccolo Buco is located in Rome. McEnery discovered the concept when he and his fiancée dined there during a trip to Italy.
“When I first saw the pizza when we got in the restaurant, I was blown away. That started my intrigue about, ‘how could we get this into the United States?’” said McEnery.
There, he met the owner, Luca Issa, and asked about collaborating to bring Piccolo Buco to the U.S. After ten days of conversations, the two agreed on the project.
“I decided to accept the partnership with Tim because from the very first time, I felt connected with him. Also because I think we have the same background,” said Issa, owner of Piccolo Buco in Rome.
Second Piccolo Buco in the United States
The Naperville restaurant is now the second Piccolo Buco in the United States, the first opened in Oak Brook in 2022. The menu offers a variety of Italian dishes, including Neapolitan-style pizza, pastas, salads, desserts, and wines.
“So we have all of our wines from Cooper’s Hawk and a few incremental wines that we created for Piccolo, alongside some other beautiful Napa and wines from Tuscany and Italy and such. It’s something for everyone in the wine world, for sure,” said McEnery.
While guests can expect a similar menu at both locations, the Naperville restaurant exclusively features a tasting bar.
Naperville’s Piccolo Buco will be open Sunday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“When I was in Italy, I used to listen about this Naperville city. Many times people say that it was one of the best cities in the US to grow a family. So I decided to come in Naperville because I think it’s a good second spot,” said Issa.
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