Lennon's, a new restaurant with a ‘come and stay' philosophy, opens this weekend
Lennon's at 16 W. Jefferson Ave. offers a mix of dining and entertainment in the three-story space previously occupied by Latin-inspired AltaVida, owner Jeremy Stolberg said.
The concept they're going for is 'come and stay,' he said.
'I know for myself, a lot of times we'll go out to dinner with a couple of other couples or friends or groups of friends, and it's sort of like, 'OK, we had a great dinner. Now what?'' Stolberg said.
'And this, to me, was an opportunity to capture the whole night. So come in, have dinner, stay for some cocktails, have a leisurely dessert, watch some entertainment, and really be able to go somewhere and have an entire night rather than just simply having dinner.'
Similar to AltaVida, Lennon's will use multiple floors to bring different experiences to its guests. The first floor will be for patrons ordering small plates meant to be shared. One floor up, Lennon's Lounge will features upscale bar food and live entertainment. The third floor, which will open two or three months from now, will be have a steakhouse concept.
There is no singular cuisine the small plates at Lennon's draw inspiration from, Stolberg said. Options include everything from Gulf shrimp ceviche ($18) and char-grilled Spanish octopus ($19) to spiced lamb meatballs ($14) and NOLA buttermilk fried chicken ($32).
The dishes reflect the cooking style of Lennon's chef Luis Alvarez, Stolberg said.
'His specialty is just being creative, figuring out how we can take unique ingredients and maybe put them to a non-unique or not as unique dish, and add some unique ingredients and come up with something that's creative and delicious all at the same time,' he said.
The second floor features a performance stage. A band is scheduled to play on opening night, but future entertainment could include magic acts, comedy shows and even bingo with music provided by a DJ.
While he has worked in the hospitality industry previously, Stolberg said Lennon's is his biggest endeavor to date — and he's really excited to open a restaurant in Naperville.
'I grew up on the north shore in Highland Park. I live in Deerfield, and I was not familiar with Naperville,' he said. 'I fell in love with the downtown area, the people, the businesses, the vibe. It's got a great restaurant scene. … So very quickly, I just fell in love with Naperville. I thought, 'What a great place to put down some roots for the business.''
Already, he said, he feels the warmth of the Naperville community. As he's prepared for the restaurant's opening over the last month, Stolberg estimates as many as 100 people have stopped by to check out what they're doing.
'The community has been amazing. Just people stopping in and chatting and wishing us luck and saying they want to come in,' he said. 'I'm excited to be part of the community here.'
In the future, Stolberg also hopes Lennon's can give back to the community through fundraising campaigns and hosting events in support of local nonprofits, schools and neighborhood initiatives.
'If people are fortunate enough to be able to come and dine out, I'd like to be able to think that we can give back,' he said.
The first floor of Lennon's is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Second floor hours are 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. More hours will be added in the coming weeks for brunch and lunch services.
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