A gastropub offering beers and burgers ultimately beat out a southern, barbecue-and-bourbon concept to become the newest clubhouse eatery at the village-owned Buffalo Grove Golf Course.
Village board members recently agreed to a five-year lease with the owners of the Cardone Group to replace the soon-to-be former Village Bar and Grill with a proposal called the Wild Buffalo, a specialized pub set to feature a wild-buffalo burger, pizza, fish, salads and wraps.
The Cardone Group, which owns the Mambo Italiano restaurant in Mundelein, was competing against the current operator of the Village Bar and Grill, Tap Room Hospitality, for a new lease to operate the clubhouse restaurant. Buffalo Grove officials have long expressed a desire for a new concept that could spruce up the dated establishment.
Tap Room proposed renovating the restaurant with a southern-style theme and menu.
Briana Cardone, one of the owners of the Cardone Group, said she hopes the Wild Buffalo will turn the clubhouse back into a destination for the community.
A 2000 graduate of Stevenson High School, Cardone recalled attending many community-orientated events at the Buffalo Grove Golf Course with her family in the 1980s, including visits with Santa Claus and hunts for Easter eggs.
“This is truly where we did grow up,” she said. “We can’t wait to go into that location. There’s a really good energy.”
Cardone opened Mambo Italiano with Salvatore Cardone in 2003 and the two have since added a catering service along with a food-distribution company called La Cucina, she said.
The new lease agreement marks the end of a 12-year run for Tap Room Hospitality as the operator of the Village Bar and Grill. Acknowledging the dated look of the clubhouse restaurant, Tap Room representatives in village board meetings earlier this year proposed a moonshine-themed renovation.
The vendor also also struggled to pay bills in a timely manner in 2014 and spent the past year on a one-year lease, which is expiring.
Going forward, Buffalo Grove officials will share some of the renovation costs to create the Wild Buffalo restaurant, said Village Manager Dane Bragg.
Village officials will pay for upgrades to the bathroom, ventilation system and common areas of the restaurant, while the Cardone Group will pay for the interior decor, Bragg said.
The clubhouse restaurant also will close during the renovation. Bragg told the Cordones during a board meeting earlier in December that he wants to see their operation running by April, when the golf season starts to kick off.
Briana Cardone said she was eager to open the Wild Buffalo to the community.
“We’re so happy to be a part of this transition,” she said. “This is our hometown.”
Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer
