At 550 S. Milwaukee Ave., the Spanish-style facade, clay roof tiles and old window frames are still there. The 7,700-square-foot building has been empty since Tuscany closed in 2022. If current plans go through, a new front, a covered entrance and a decorative fountain by the door will replace most of what drivers on Restaurant Row have been passing for four years.
Those plans are still in review. Wheeling's restaurant openings this year happened on Dundee Road. In 2026, Dundee became the street where new places actually opened, while Milwaukee Avenue's Restaurant Row is where the next projects are still waiting on paperwork.
Dundee Road got there first
The clearest marker came in early spring. According to the Village of Wheeling's economic development site, Finn McCool's Irish Sports Pub officially opened on March 6, 2026, at 373 W. Dundee Road. That date put it open in time for its first St. Patrick's Day in Wheeling. The pub is in Wheeling Town Center at Dundee and Milwaukee, and the center's current tenant list puts it next to Moretti's Ristorante and Pizzeria. Finn McCool's posts its hours and kitchen hours for the Wheeling location on its own site.
Farther east, Red Bottle Restaurant is open at 401 E. Dundee Road, takes reservations and publishes its hours. No public source gives an exact opening month. By September it was a regular stop: the Wheeling Area Chamber promoted an event hosted at Red Bottle in a post updated September 8, 2026.
The two places do different jobs, which makes the Dundee corridor more useful than either one alone:
- Finn McCool's, 373 W. Dundee Road. A sports pub at Wheeling Town Center, open since March 6, 2026, with Moretti's in the same center.
- Red Bottle, 401 E. Dundee Road. A sit-down restaurant that takes reservations. It advertises karaoke and parties on Friday and Saturday nights, plus sushi on weekends.
That gives Dundee Road a game-day pub and a weekend night out on the same road.
Restaurant Row's two biggest vacancies are stuck on different problems
Two of Milwaukee Avenue's most visible empty buildings both have plans with names and operators behind them, and both have been before the village. The plans just aren't finished, and each one is waiting on something different.
| Ahara | 604 The Arena | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 550 S. Milwaukee Ave. | 604 N. Milwaukee Ave. |
| Former tenant | Tuscany, closed in 2022 | Buca di Beppo |
| Concept | Upscale Indian restaurant | Restaurant and entertainment venue |
| Last public step | Plan commission review and public hearing, early September 2026 | Village board approval, April 6, 2026 |
| What's still open | Village board's final decision | Permits wait on a deal for the south parking lot |
Ahara: a design review for a building that needs a lot of work
The Ahara team has a track record. As the Daily Herald reported in September, Bolingbrook restaurateur Arun Sharma and his family are behind it. They already run Indian Garden Chicago in Streeterville and Mantra by Indian Garden in Schiller Park.
The September plans go well past a new sign. The Tuscany facade would come down and be replaced with a different design. The windows, light fixtures, clay roof tiles and landscaping would be removed or replaced. A covered entrance, a sunroom on the north side and outdoor dining on the south side are part of the proposal too. The fountain is the reason for the public hearing. It needs a variance from village building codes, so it went to a hearing at the same plan commission meeting at village hall, 2 Community Blvd. The village board has the final say.
We found no public report of a board vote, construction start or opening date after that September meeting. For now, the clay roof tiles are still on the building.
604 The Arena: approved, but waiting on a parking lot
The former Buca di Beppo site at 604 N. Milwaukee Ave. has been through the full board vote. The Daily Herald reported that the village board approved 604 The Arena on April 6, 2026. Plans include cricket and golf simulators, virtual reality, an arcade, a bar and lounge, and a dining room.
The approval came with one condition. Construction permits can't be issued until the developer buys the south parking lot or reaches an agreement with its owner. At the April meeting, the developer said that was still being worked out. We found no later public report saying the lot issue was settled, permits were issued or an opening date was set. As of the most recent coverage, the simulators exist only on paper.
Both Restaurant Row projects are reusing large former restaurant buildings, and each has run into a site-specific requirement, a fountain variance at one and a parking-lot condition at the other, before work can move forward.
The Milwaukee Avenue tables with dates on them this season
While the Row's new restaurants wait, the Milwaukee Avenue meals you can actually put on a calendar this fall are at Chevy Chase Country Club, 1000 N. Milwaukee Ave. The Wheeling Park District has booked three of its seasonal gatherings there.
Fall Fling is up first, on October 21. It's a 10 to 11:30 a.m. brunch with entertainment in Chevy Chase's Devonshire Room. Tickets are $32 for residents and $38 for nonresidents, and registration closes October 14. The Thanksgiving Community Feast follows on November 15, and Santa's Breakfast is on December 6, both at the same club.
The Park District's special events page lists the rest of the season. Most of it happens at Heritage Park, the Indoor Pool and the Community Recreation Center.
October through mid-December, in date order
- Boonanza, Friday, October 16, 4 to 7 p.m., Heritage Park, 100 Community Boulevard. Free carnival games, hayrides, inflatables and pumpkin decorating for kids.
- Fall Fling, Wednesday, October 21, Chevy Chase Country Club. Brunch and entertainment. Register by October 14.
- Spooky Flick & Float, Friday, October 23, 5 to 7:30 p.m., Indoor Pool. Hotel Transylvania plays while families swim. Admission is $18 for everyone, including people who watch from the pool deck, and it's recommended for ages 4 and up.
- Day of the Dead 5K, Sunday, October 25, 9 a.m. start. Registration is through RunSignup.
- Chicago's Most Haunted Lunch & Show, Friday, October 30, noon to 2 p.m., Community Recreation Center. Lunch is included, and the show covers haunted places around Chicagoland. Dink or Treat, a pickleball tournament, is at the same center that day.
- Early November. Sunday Funday Football at Horizon Park, 385 Schoenbeck Road, on November 8. The Glow Pool Party at the Indoor Pool and Silly Superstitions Kids Night Out at the Community Recreation Center, both on November 13.
- Thanksgiving Community Feast, Sunday, November 15, Chevy Chase Country Club. Family Jeopardy Night follows on November 20 and Breakfast Bingo on November 22, both at the Community Recreation Center.
- Letters to Santa, November 28 through December 12. Drop-off is at the Community Recreation Center.
- Lollipop Lane, December 4 to 6 and December 11 to 13, Chamber Park, 131 N. Wolf Road. Hosted by the Wheeling Historical Society & Museum, with free photos with Santa. Friday hours are 5 to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday hours are 2 to 5 p.m.
- Santa's Breakfast and Holiday Hoopla, Sunday, December 6. Breakfast is at Chevy Chase Country Club, and Hoopla is at the Community Recreation Center.
- Gingerbread Family Challenge, Friday, December 11, Community Recreation Center.
The next updates on Restaurant Row will come from village hall at 2 Community Blvd. Ahara is waiting on a village board decision. 604 The Arena is waiting on a south-lot deal before construction permits can be issued.
When a long-empty building like the former Tuscany finally gets a new owner, a new front and a new use, you can see the change from the street, and so can the people deciding whether to live nearby. Here at Lisa Wolf Team | wolfpartners GROUP, we follow changes like these on Dundee Road and Milwaukee Avenue because they shape how a home in Wheeling is presented and valued. If you'd like to talk through what this corridor's next year could mean for your plans, we'd be glad to help. Work With Us.
