The owners of VAI’s Italian Inspired Restaurant Kitchen + Bar in Naperville are expanding their company brand to include Entourage, an American urban dining restaurant opening this summer.
While the new business — under construction at 796 S. Route 59 in the former Bakers Square building just north of VAI’s — will feature dry-aged cuts of beef, owner Michael Vai is adamant Entourage is not a steakhouse.
“We certainly do not want to be known as a steakhouse,” Vai said, because when people hear “steakhouse,” they think it’s expensive.
“We want the place to be an everyday restaurant. But our food program will be all fresh with locally sourced ingredients,” he said.
The menu will be designed with “value, quality and great execution in mind” and will come from its state-of-the-art kitchen, which includes $450,000 invested in smokers, wood grills, infrared broilers and dry age meat refrigeration units.
“Our partner, Scott Wegener, a highly respected and renowned chef in Chicagoland, will be working with all local farmers, local mills and miscellaneous locally grown products for all the freshness and vibrancy these products bring, plus support the local industry of suppliers,” Vai said.
Where the value comes in, he said, is with composed plates that include the entree and side dishes, “meaning customers won’t have to order extra for a potato or vegetable.”
The restaurant will serve beef from Linz Heritage Angus.
“We feel it is the best beef in this part of the country and the farm is in Northern Indiana,” Vai said.
In addition, he said, owner Fred Linz is a friend and committed to working to bring an “evolution of urban dining to the suburbs.”
In addition to steaks, the menu will have items like seasonal seafood items, chops and in-house wood-smoked meats, Vai said.
Also available will be a selection of cold, raw-bar type items, such as seasonal oysters, fresh wild-caught poached prawns, Alaskan king crab and sushi.
Patrons can expect to see a limited menu in the range of 40 items at the beginning.
“We’re going to keep it scaled down so we can just execute and then continue to grow,” Vai said.
At the bar, customers can select from a range of specialty cocktails and batch cocktails dispensed out of a frozen tap at 7 to 8 degrees.
The interior will be a “warm and welcoming design,” he said, and the tables are oversized so customers can feel relaxed.
Plans are in the works for an outside patio that is expected to open in spring 2024.
The original Entourage in Schaumburg was founded by Vai and Wegener in 2006.
While that restaurant was popular and won accolades like Best New Suburban Restaurant by Time Out Chicago magazine in 2007, Entourage ran into trouble with a bad business investor partnership and closed after two years, he said.
He’s confident the re-envisioned Entourage Naperville will prosper because its investors are family and close friends and because they’ve had success with Fire + Wine in Glen Ellyn and at VAI’s Italian in Naperville.
“We believe in our people and have assembled a great management and culinary team,” Vai said.
Vai also believes Route 59 is primed for becoming a haven for foodies.
“I think Entourage is going to add to this corridor and then there’s this new proposed (Block 59) complex going in on Aurora Avenue. … I bet you’re going to get some really good operators in there,” he said.
One of the reasons Route 59 is so attractive to restaurateurs, Vai said, is the availability of parking.
“I do 600 to 700 meals on a busy Saturday night at a 300-seat restaurant,” he said, referring to VAI’s Italian. “You’ve got to be able to park people.”
Although VAI’s and Entourage are roughly 1,800 feet away from each other, the two restaurants are meant to complement each other, he said.
There will be some crossover in menu items, such as a steak or pasta, he said, but the subtleties will be in how they are prepared differently at each restaurant.
Giving back to the community also is something the owner said he will carry over from VAI’s to Entourage.
In 2019, Michael Vai reached out to his younger brother, renowned guitarist Steve Vai, to donate his time and talent for a concert to benefit Little Friends. Steve Vai is a three-time Grammy Award-winner and 15-time nominee who’s toured with Frank Zappa, Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth and Whitesnake.
The concert at North Central College’s Wentz Hall raised more than $140,000 for the nonprofit, which helps those with autism or developmental disabilities.
Michael Vai said instead of hosting a grand opening for Entourage, he wants to host a benefit night at the new restaurant for Little Friends when it opens.
“We are very, very committed to being very respected and being very good at what we do,” he said. “It’s not all about us. “It’s about good customer experiences; it’s good employee experiences; and at the end of the day, everything else works out.”
