Italian On The Go
Restaurant executives unite to create Go Roma, a fast casual Italian restaurant that wants lifestyle locations.

It’s a partnership you might say is too good to be true. Four friends and former business partners, who spent years developing and perfecting restaurant concepts with Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. and Dallas-based Brinker International, have ventured out on their own to develop Go Roma Italian Kitchen, a chef-driven fast-casual concept featuring exceptional Italian fare. Industry veterans who have participated in the creation, management and growth of restaurants ranging from casual to four-star dining, the dynamic team includes Founder/President David Wolfgram, former president of Corner Bakery Café; Co-Founder/Partner Russell Bry, former vice president and executive chef, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc.; Co-Founder/Partner Jeff Drake, former regional director for Brinker International; and Co-Founder/Partner Yorgo Koutsogiorgas, former vice president of Maggiano’s Little Italy.

“We felt comfortable doing a number of different concepts in a number of different types of cuisines, but we felt that the Mexican, Asian and casual American segments were pretty saturated and confusing,” says Koutsogiorgas. “We decided to do Italian because, although Italian is very well represented in the casual and upscale segments, it’s not well represented, or in some areas not at all represented, in the fast-casual segment.”

In 1996, privately owned Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises decided to sell Corner Bakery and Maggiano’s to Brinker International, a publicly owned company, which owns Chili’s Grill & Bar, Romano’s Macaroni Grill and On the Border, among other concepts. Brinker asked the Lettuce Entertain You team to continue growing the concepts. But when Brinker requested the team relocate to Dallas, the partners were not prepared to move because their headquarters were in Chicago. So they resigned their positions with Brinker and started Go Roma Italian Kitchen.

Already receiving rave reviews at two locations in the Chicago suburbs, Go Roma Italian Kitchen has a third restaurant under contract and is planning up to four new locations by the end of 2005. The restaurant appeals to families, singles, couples and business groups who are either on the go or looking for a relaxing dining experience.

“In today’s fast-paced lifestyle, we felt there was a need for a good experience without the burdens of time and money you have to spend to go to a good, upscale Italian restaurant,” notes Koutsogiorgas. “So we combined the key elements of casual dining — great food made from scratch, fresh ingredients — and combined them with the speed you would expect from a fast-food or quick-service restaurant. And we offer them at a very reasonable price.”

Chef Russell Bry’s well-rounded menu includes hearty soups, seasonal salads, toasted flatbread sandwiches, hand-stretched artisan pizzas, tossed pastas and Italian specialties. Each dish is prepared to order and comes in sensible portions, as opposed to the large, heavy portions that most people associate with Italian cuisine. The restaurant features a 90-seat dining room and 32-seat outdoor patio in its Warrenville, Illinois, location and a 120-seat dining room and 20-seat outdoor patio in its Northbrook, Illinois, location.

The Go Roma team hired The Aria Group, who specializes in restaurant design — and whom they had worked with in the past — to design the restaurant. The two companies share a similar vision for creating a comfortable customer experience, says Koutsogiorgas.

“We didn’t want to convey the sense of being in a fast-food restaurant with fluorescent lighting and plastic chairs,” he says. “So we used more enduring materials, such as warmer, nicer woods; wainscoting; warm lighting with sconces and spotlights to highlight the tables; and warm, soothing background music.”

Go Roma Italian Kitchen has a somewhat conservative growth plan, considering that the new concept has been so well received by the public, says Koutsogiorgas. The company hopes to reach 10 units in the first 2 years, solidify its back-house systems and training, and develop an infrastructure that will allow for more aggressive growth in year three. The partners are foremost interested in the Chicago market — the metro area as well as a radius of up to 30 or 40 miles — because they know it intimately. Other markets on the radar screen are Southern and Northern California.

“We have experience in those markets, and I believe Californians are very forward-looking, progressive consumers,” Koutsogiorgas adds. “It’s proven time and time again that a lot of wonderful ideas come from the West, eastbound. And fast-casual is very well accepted in Southern California where people live very busy lives and where there is good weather. The use of an outdoor patio is not a risky business as it is in the Midwest.”

Go Roma Italian Kitchen is looking for 3,000- to 3,500-square-foot floor plans in mid- to large-sized, mixed-use lifestyle centers.

“It’s a perfect fit for us because we fit the lifestyle of the contemporary consumer,” notes Koutsogiorgas. “And it’s an easy-to-understand concept. The food we serve is not intimidating and yet very, very satisfying. We have food that the average consumer can feel very much at home with, and I believe that will give us the opportunity to go to different places and be successful there because we will be accepted as we have been in the two locations we’re open in right now.”

— Susan H. Fishman