Chicagoland Italian beef chain Buona eyes multistate expansion
Buona, the homegrown Italian beef chain that created the red-letter day 10 years ago, officially opened its 32nd Chicago-area restaurant this week in Gurnee, Illinois, with a co-owned Rainbow Cone ice cream shop tucked inside.
'It's pretty cool,' said Joe Buonavolanto III, 35, executive vice president of Burr Ridge-based Buona. 'They go and get a beef sandwich and then they walk over and get the Original Rainbow Cone.'
Located on Grand Avenue near Six Flags Great America in the far northern suburbs, the newest Buona restaurant is part of a broader expansion by the family-owned chain launched four decades ago in Berwyn, Illinois. A 33rd location will open this summer in Crown Point, Indiana.
All current Buona restaurants are company-owned, but the chain is planning to spread the gospel of the Chicago sandwich steeped in tradition and gravy by opening franchise locations in Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin beginning this fall.
In addition to Italian beef, hot dogs and other offerings, the new restaurants will all include a Rainbow Cone ice cream shop, which occupies less than 10% of the 4,500-square-foot space.
Buona acquired the Original Rainbow Cone, a family-owned South Side staple for nearly a century, in 2018, and now has 14 dual-branded restaurants, five standalone ice cream shops, a Navy Pier kiosk and a museum campus food truck. It also has eight franchised Rainbow locations stretching from California to Florida.
The first dual-branded Buona/Rainbow Cone restaurant opened four years ago in southwest suburban Darien.
'The beauty about this dual concept is it creates additional revenue opportunities throughout the day, and you get to have two iconic Chicago items under one roof,' Buonavolanto said. 'The Italian beef sandwich and the most iconic Chicago dessert, the Original Rainbow Cone.'
Started in 1926, Rainbow Cone features five flavors of ice cream sliced, not scooped, and stacked into a cone or cup. When Buona acquired Rainbow Cone seven years ago, there were two locations — the original shop in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago's Far South Side and the Navy Pier kiosk.
With the opening of a standalone ice cream shop on Michigan Avenue in July, there will be 30 Rainbow Cone locations in seven states.
But Italian beef, the quintessential Chicago sandwich, remains at the top of the Buona menu — and its expansion plans.
With a history dating back a century, one of the earliest purveyors of the thinly sliced beef, au jus and peppers on an Italian roll was Al's, which started in 1938 as a stand in the Little Italy neighborhood on the Near West Side.
Mr. Beef, another iconic Italian beef stand, opened in 1979 on Orleans Street in River North, developing a loyal lunchtime crowd eating communally on picnic benches, ties flipped over their shoulders to avoid gravy stains. The restaurant gained national prominence through celebrity fans such as Jay Leno, and more recently served as the inspiration for 'The Bear,' the hit TV series which elevated Italian beef to cult status.
Other longtime favorites include Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park and Scatchell's in Cicero. But the mission for exporting the true Chicago staple to other markets across the country has fallen mostly on Portillo's.
Launched as a Villa Park hot dog stand in 1963, Dick Portillo expanded his menu to include Italian beef, burgers, salads and more, and built his chain to 38 restaurants in Illinois, Indiana, California and Arizona before selling to private equity firm Berkshire Partners in 2014.
By the time Portillo's went public in October 2021, it had 67 restaurants in nine states, raising $405 million through the offering with an ambitious plan to expand to 600 locations nationwide.
Since then, Portillo's has grown to 94 restaurants in 10 states, but the company's stock has fallen about 75% from its post-IPO high and the chain has taken some heat from activist investors Engaged Capital over concerns about increasing same-store sales and profitably growing units, advocating for smaller restaurant formats.
On April 28, the restaurant chain announced it reached an agreement with Engaged, which owns 8.6% of Portillo's outstanding stock, to cooperate in appointing a director to the board.
A spokesperson for the California-based hedge fund did not respond to a request for comment.
All of Portillo's 94 restaurants are company-owned with no plans to franchise locations, a company spokesperson said last week.
While Buona's soon-to-be 33 restaurants are also company-owned, it is taking a different approach to out-of-market expansion, with the first franchise location set to open in September in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. That will be followed next year by another Tennessee location, as well as franchises in Texas and Wisconsin, Buonavolanto said.
'It's our goal as we expand into outer markets, to have somebody local that lives in the area, that has a sense of ownership, that invests their own money in building the store,' Buonavolanto said. 'That's the biggest thing that made us choose a franchise versus opening up our company stores as we expand into new markets.'
It is not, however, the first foray into franchising for Buona. In June 2021, Buona opened a franchise location in a food hall kiosk at McGregor Square, an entertainment complex adjacent to Coors Field in Denver. Launched during the pandemic, it lasted six months before Buona pulled the plug, deferring franchising efforts to focus on expansion of company-owned stores.
Those franchising ambitions begin anew this fall, as Buona enters several states in a big way, with plans to open up to 10 restaurants over five years in Texas alone.
'Who else is franchising Italian beef at a high level?' Buonavolanto posited. 'The answer is nobody.'
Buona is hoping that Rainbow Cone will be another Chicago taste that travels well, with plans to include it in all new restaurants, franchised and company-owned.
But Italian beef will be the main draw as Buona brings a taste of Chicago to places that have only seen it on TV.
''The Bear' is an entertaining show,' Buonavolanto said. 'But that really had nothing to do with our desire to expand into new states that we feel have a demand for Italian beef.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
20 minutes ago
- New York Post
Google loses appeal in suit filed by 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games as app store verdict upheld
Alphabet's Google on Thursday failed to persuade a US appeals panel to overturn a jury verdict and federal court order requiring the technology giant to revamp its app store Play. The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims from Google that the trial judge made legal errors in the antitrust case that unfairly benefited 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games, which filed the lawsuit in 2020. Epic accused Google of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps. Advertisement 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games accused Google of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and pay for transactions within apps. AFP via Getty Images The Cary, North Carolina-based company convinced a San Francisco jury in 2023 that Google illegally stifled competition. US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco ordered Google in October to restore competition by allowing users to download rival app stores within its Play store and by making Play's app catalog available to those competitors, among other reforms. Donato's order was on hold pending the outcome of the 9th Circuit appeal. Advertisement The court's decision can be appealed to the US Supreme Court. Google told the appeals court that the tech company's Play store competes with Apple's App Store, and that Donato unfairly barred Google from making that point to contest Epic's antitrust claims. The tech giant also argued that a jury should never have heard Epic's lawsuit because it sought to enjoin Google's conduct — a request normally decided by a judge — and not collect damages. Advertisement Epic has defended the verdict and court injunction, telling the 9th Circuit judges that the Android app market has been 'suffering under anti-competitive behavior for the better part of a decade.' Google told the appeals court that the tech company's Play store competes with Apple's App Store, and that the judge unfairly barred Google from making that point to contest Epic's antitrust claims. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images In the trial court and in the appeal, Epic disputed arguments by Google that changes to its app business ordered by the court would harm user privacy and security. Microsoft filed a brief backing Epic, as did the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission. Advertisement Epic separately is battling Apple over a US judge's order requiring the iPhone maker to give developers greater freedom to steer consumers to make purchases outside its App Store. Apple has appealed a ruling that said it violated a prior injunction in a lawsuit that Epic filed in 2020.
Hamilton Spectator
21 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Canada Goose posts wider loss despite new clothing lines resonating with consumers
TORONTO - Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says its new lines of spring and summer clothing appear to be resonating with consumers, though the company posted a wider net loss in its latest quarter. Chief executive Dani Reiss said apparel such as T-shirts and polos have been some of the company's best sellers in recent months, helping the company change its perception that it's a winter-only brand. 'The spring summer campaign brought a fresh energy to the brand, playful and relevant with a clear message: We do summer too,' Reiss told analysts on a conference call Thursday. Rising temperatures and milder winters have pushed some retailers, including Canada Goose, to rethink their product mix. As a result, the company has been expanding its offerings to include lightweight puffers, sweaters, wind and rain wear, shoes and even eyewear in recent years. Despite the optimism from executives over its new product lines, the luxury parka maker reported a wider net loss of $125.5 million during its fiscal first-quarter, compared with a loss of $74 million during the same quarter last year. The loss was driven partly by higher spending on marketing campaigns and expanding its retail footprint. On an adjusted basis, the Toronto-based company said it lost $1.29 per diluted share in the quarter, compared with an adjusted loss of 80 cents per diluted share last year. While its bottom line took a hit, sales were higher. Revenue for the quarter totalled $107.8 million, up from $88.1 million a year ago. Direct-to-consumer revenue totalled $78.1 million, up 22.8 per cent from a year ago, while wholesale revenue rose 11.9 per cent to $17.9 million. Chief financial officer Neil Bowden said expanding the company's offerings over the last 12-15 months has borne fruit. 'Things are working here,' he told analysts. 'That's why we've got confidence around the sustainability of it in spite of what is still a pretty choppy, tough consumer market.' Consumer confidence has been hampered this year amid ongoing tariff threats from the U.S. and an economic slowdown, leading many shoppers to rein in their spending. Bowden said 75 per cent of the company's products are made in Canada and nearly all comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, making them exempt from U.S. tariffs. But it is paying a 'modestly higher tariff' on its European products. 'We continue to monitor the ongoing developments as it relates to potential new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods as well as potential second-order impacts on the consumer,' Bowden said. Canada Goose shares were trading nearly nine per cent lower at $16.17 on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of midday Thursday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX: GOOS)
CNBC
21 minutes ago
- CNBC
42-year-old CEO: I turned my hobby into a $50 million-a-year business backed by Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Vesler has been obsessed with vintage sports apparel since childhood. His collection started with classic Air Jordan sneakers and Bo Jackson's Nike merchandise. In college, he earned extra cash by scouring local thrift shops for vintage items to sell on eBay. And in 2007, his obsession inspired him to launch Homage, a Columbus, Ohio-based sports and pop culture apparel brand that brought in more than $50 million in 2024 revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Homage's apparel bears retro graphics with a vintage aesthetic, including throwbacks featuring classic sports team logos and legendary athletes from various eras. LeBron James helped popularize the brand by rocking one of its shirts, featuring 80's wrestler The Ultimate Warrior, after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Championship. "LeBron wore our stuff. That was a 'pinch me' moment and a major brand moment at the same time ... because he's very deliberate about what brand he wears," says Vesler, the company's 42-year-old CEO, who launched Homage from his parents' Ohio basement with a combination of eBay earnings and a few maxed-out credit the past almost-two decades, Homage has slowly worked to ink licensing deals with large organizations like the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, Walt Disney Company, WWE and trading card company Topps. The company's investors include celebrities and athletes like Ryan Reynolds, Jason Kelce and Kevin Durant. This year, Homage expects revenue to increase by a double-digit percentage, according to the company. Here's how Vesler turned his personal thrift shop habit into a growing business with eight-figure annual revenue. At age 13, Vesler combed through racks of clothing at thrift shops in Columbus, looking for the thrill of unearthing a cool, vintage sports jersey or T-shirt. Finding the perfect throwback item, like an old-school Houston Astros rainbow-colored jersey, meant "knowing it was unique, that nobody else had it [and] you couldn't go to the mall and there were, like, 1,000 of them," he says. While studying Spanish language and literature at Ohio University, Vesler ran a side hustle selling piles of vintage sportswear and pop-culture collectibles on eBay. His roommates were "always annoyed ... because [of the] boxes of stuff piling up," he says. Vesler made enough money from the venture — eventually bringing in up to nearly $20,000 annually, he says — to support himself after graduating in 2005, leading him to try his hand at making his own products. He launched Homage from his parents' basement in 2007, using more than $10,000 from his eBay earnings to buy blank American Apparel T-shirts and adorn them with self-designed sports graphics, he says. He wanted his designs be fun, creative and able to evoke the same joy he felt unearthing a unique thrift store find, he says. He took the shirts to local college bookstores. The biggest one in his area — The Ohio State University, with a massive fan base that Vesler likens to that of an NFL team — quickly rejected him. So over the next year, he says, he built a client list of smaller local schools, like his alma mater, to establish Homage's reputation as a high-quality brand. The products sold well enough at smaller schools that Vesler felt emboldened approaching local football icons to partner with Homage. He landed an in-person meeting with Archie Griffin, a two-time Heisman Trophy-winner at Ohio State, and inked a partnership with Griffin to license a series of shirts bearing the former running back's likeness. The shirts helped Homage land its licensing deal with Ohio State in 2008, says Vesler. A lifelong Ohio State fan, he was "catatonic on the floor" in happiness, he says. "I'd say that's the best IP in the world," says Vesler. "I knew that if you could prove yourself at Ohio State, you could go anywhere [in the U.S.]." The Ohio State deal brought an immediate surge of demand, which Homage's handful of employees could barely handle at first, Vesler says: "We never had enough inventory, we didn't have enough staff [and] stores would never send us their purchase orders in a timely fashion." With the revenue from those orders, Vesler increased the number of blank shirts in Homage's inventory at any given time, and hired more staff to handle the larger workload. The company's annual sales topped $1 million for the first time in 2009, says Vesler. Homage continued to sell mostly through college bookstores and its website until 2015, when it landed a national licensing deal with the NBA — due, Vesler says, to a years-long track record of managing Ohio State's massive fan base. Vesler sent a box of T-shirts to his local team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and insists it was a surprise when James, the NBA star, walked off a team plane wearing his brand in 2016. As more athletes wore the brand in public, more partners signed on, including the NFL and Disney's "Star Wars" and Marvel franchises. Yet Homage is still a relatively small player in a highly competitive sports apparel market, led by giants like Fanatics and Nike, that's forecasted to top $173 billion in North American retail sales in 2025, according to a McKinsey & Company report. Vesler says he's focused on gaining market share through pure creativity, in terms of Homage's apparel designs. He's also eyeing international expansion, starting with licensed merchandise for Wrexham A.F.C. — a professional soccer team based in the U.K. that's co-owned by Reynolds, the actor who's invested in Homage. Some of Vesler's other strategic ideas are purely wishful thinking for now: His company isn't large enough, and doesn't have large enough "strategic partners" yet, to create sports-themed experiences like Homage-branded bars or hotels, he says. But no idea is too far-fetched to eventually consider, he notes. "What enables this thing is people saying 'yes' to cool ideas," says Vesler. "Without that, there's no Homage."
