Pizza restaurant revives historic downtown Palatine building
The Palatine building where the village’s oldest continuing business once operated is about to become home to the downtown’s newest restaurant.
Pizza Bella will open within the next five to 10 days at 16 N. Brockway St., owner Tony DeFilippis said. It’s the former site of the Zimmer Hardware store, which closed in 2019 after 136 years in business.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said DeFilippis, whose restaurant until recently operated for 15 years in the Clock Tower Plaza shopping center in Palatine. “A lot of obstacles to overcome. But we’re very excited. We’re very happy.”
DeFilippis said the downtown location will have a soft opening with an emphasis on pickup and delivery, before it plunges into a full-service operation.
The concept for the restaurant is different from what he had at his previous location.
“This is full service,” he said. “This really brings in the vision I have always had with my pickup and delivery. We want the families. We want you to sit down. We want you to laugh. Have a soda, have a beer, and have a wonderful pizza as well.”
DeFilippis said it took less work to convert a historic building into a modern pizzeria than one might expect. Once the inside was gutted, he said, the building was found to be in great shape.
“Things were built back then to last,” he said. “The building was structurally sound. The integrity of the building was there.”
“It was a goal of ours to keep the structure,” he added. “Because it is something that belongs to Palatine.”
While pizza will remain the main focus, DeFilippis said he plans to expand in-house offerings with items such as Italian ice and soft serve ice cream.
“A lot of work went into this,” Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz said during his recent State of the Village address. “Tony had a vision, and it’s unbelievable. I can tell you when it does open, this is going to be one of the nicer restaurants because of his vision. He has always wanted a sit-down restaurant, and this is his baby.”