Moretti’s restaurant coming to Wheeling Town Center

An Italian restaurant with deep Chicago-area roots is coming to the Wheeling Town Center complex.

Moretti’s is taking over the free-standing building at 365 W. Dundee Road that was occupied by City Works until that eatery closed permanently in December.

Moretti’s officials hope to open by Thanksgiving, Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said during Monday’s village board meeting.

“This is a big win for the community,” Sfondilis said.

Moretti’s intends to buy the 8,400-square-foot building from the Lynmark Group, the company that developed Town Center. A closing date for the purchase wasn’t immediately available.

Founded in Chicago in 1992, Moretti’s is a family-owned chain that’s especially known for pizza and pasta dishes.

Moretti’s is exclusive to the Chicago area. Most Moretti’s restaurants are in the Northwest suburbs, including Barrington, Bartlett, Elgin, Fox Lake, Mount Prospect, Rosemont and Schaumburg.

Wheeling Trustee Mary Krueger said she was “super excited” about Moretti’s pending arrival.

“As much as we didn’t want to see City Works go, the site didn’t remain vacant for too long before we got a great replacement,” she said in a telephone interview.

City Works was one of the original businesses in Town Center, opening in August 2019. City Works was considered an anchor in the complex but the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges led to its closure, officials said at the time.

City Works restaurants in Schaumburg and Vernon Hills remain open.

In related action, the village board on Monday agreed to amend the development agreement for Wheeling Town Center by promising to keep two grassy lots near the future Moretti’s building vacant so the restaurant can be seen more easily by passersby. The lots are behind the Starbucks shop at 351 W. Dundee Road.

The village owns the two lots.