Lady T’s Pizzeria and Pub opens in Aurora

Sometimes, the dream of a lifetime needs just the right moment to be realized, which is how Tanya Urbon feels these days about her restaurant that just opened in Aurora in mid-October.

The eatery formerly known as Mike & Denise’s Pub at 1760 N. Farnsworth Ave. is now Lady T’s Pizzeria and Pub, a nod to Urbon’s nickname.

Urbon already runs a totally different business on Aurora’s West Side – Mommy and Aiden Academy Inc. – a daycare facility that Urbon insists has nothing to do with her food and restaurant acumen.

She said in the past she has run “a bunch of restaurants including both a McDonald’s and a Burger King franchise as well as mom and pop places like a pancake house.”

“Whether it’s food preparation or doing the books I’ve had the chance to see all the elements of the business,” Urbon of Oswego said.

Urbon said she knew the previous owners of the site and began looking at acquiring the property a year ago.

“I found out online that the business was up for sale. Mike and Denise Siddon had this location for about 30 years before,” she said. “The signature item here is the thin, tavern-style pizza and I have the recipe from the previous owners. I also want to continue the crab legs and the fish fry which is big here. We’re also going to add some steaks later on.”

The restaurant has been extensively renovated and repaired, she said, and features the same signature pizza along with some spin-offs, as well as pasta, salads, burgers, sandwiches, wraps and more.

The venue also offers pool tables, video gambling consoles and over a dozen televisions, something that longtime Mike & Denise’s customer Herbert Moederndorfer of Aurora said he really appreciates.

“I come here about three times a week and I’m glad that the business is back. Things are status quo and the bartenders are still coming back,” he said as he visited the day after a ribbon cutting with city officials. “I like sports and I think they have the best set-up in town with the TVs. If you want to watch a game, they’ll put in on for you. At some places they’ll say you’ve got to sit here or there to watch it. They’re very accommodating and it’s just a good place.”

Moederndorfer said he has been in Aurora since 1958 and has seen the restaurant change hands a few times.

“This used to be a steakhouse and then a Mexican restaurant, and then Mike & Denise and now this,” he said.

Tim Graham of Batavia said he likes to come to the restaurant “since we work in the area and it’s a nice place to come for lunch.”

“I like the regular lunch menu things and while I didn’t know the former owners were leaving everything seems to be going in the right direction,” he said.

Aurora Chief Communications and Equity Officer Clayton Muhammad said it is important having a business operating at the site since it is on “one of the gateways into Aurora.”

The restaurant, he noted, is only a half-mile from the Chicago Premium Outlets mall and will be near the new Hollywood Casino Resort when that is built.

“This was a longstanding business on Farnsworth with Mike & Denise’s and when they closed, to be able to open a new eatery is key as this is a major gateway coming into the city and we wouldn’t want something as large as that property sitting there empty,” Muhammad said. “The fact she is Latina and this is not just a minority-owned business but a woman-owned business underscores what we are trying to do in Aurora and make things accessible for all.”

Looking ahead, Urbon said she wants “to create more of a family atmosphere, including more for kids” as well as add more ethnic food to the menu including some Spanish dishes.

As a business owner, Urbon feels she can be a model for other Latina women like herself.

“I feel good. It took me a lot to get where I am at,” she said. “I dreamed of having my own place like this back when I was working at McDonald’s. I wish things had worked out even sooner, but everything happens for a reason. I feel as a Hispanic woman this is something others can learn from. You’ve just got to go and get it and put your heart into it.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.