Barolo Reopens Kitchen After Shutdown: 'We'll See What Happens'
JOLIET, IL — One of Joliet's most elegant Italian restaurants has reopened for business this week after staying closed during the past month amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Barolo Ristorante was one of Joliet's most prominent sit-down restaurants to temporary close after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that restaurants and bars could not entertain guests inside their establishments as the coronavirus spread across Illinois.
But while Barolo Ristorante stayed closed, customers continued to call the restaurant, 2765 Black Road. Chef/owner Guy Turi said he realized that several of his customers missed his food.
Don't miss updates about precautions in the Joliet area as they are announced — Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.
Late Monday afternoon, Barolo reopened for carryout orders only.
During an interview Tuesday night, Turi told Joliet Patch he was pleasantly surprised with the number of carryout orders he prepared both Monday and Tuesday evenings.
Barolo Ristorante has been in Joliet since 2000. After originally opening in downtown Joliet, Turi moved his Italian cuisine restaurant in 2008 to the strip mall near Black Road and Infantry Drive.
Turi wants to offer Joliet area residents a greater variety of options for their family takeout meals. He's hoping that a lot of people are getting tired of eating fast food.
Barolo is now staying open 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The fact that so many customers were calling and leaving long messages on his restaurant's answering machine made Turi decide to reopen his Italian restaurant for takeout orders and give it a try.
"We'll see what happens. Yesterday and today was pretty good," Turi told Joliet Patch on Tuesday night.
Turi also wants customers to know that Barolo Ristorante has bottles of wine and Sangria for takeout orders.
"We have an extensive wine list," Turi added.
Being closed for an entire month was terrible, Turi said. Barolo served lunch and dinner crowds and it also handled banquets and catering.
"We've had a lot of banquets canceled," he said this week.
The ongoing international health crisis, "it's literally cost tens of thousands of dollars" of lost income, he told Joliet Patch.
Turi said he submitted his small business loan applications on March 31 through the Small Business Administration's coronavirus relief program and "we have not seen a dime yet."
Now that he's staying open for carryout orders six days a week, Turi said he is hoping people throughout the Joliet area give Barolo Ristorante a try for dinner.
"We're an Italian restaurant, but we don't do pizza," he said. "We have pastas, seafoods and a steak on the menu also, veal, chicken."
The menu includes linguine, Manicotti, fettuccine, raviolis and more.
"Nothing is pre-made," Turi remarked.
Barolo Ristorante's phone for carryout orders is 815-729-3606.
Meals can be brought out to the customer's car in the large parking lot along Black Road, or, "they can come in if they want to wait," Turi said.
Barolo Ristorante is one of the most recent small local restaurants to fill out Joliet Patch's simple online survey to let everyone know they are open and their current hours of operations during the coronavirus outbreak. About 125 Joliet businesses have been added to Patch's list so far.
If you want to add your business to Joliet Patch's list of open and closed businesses, you can do so here.
Related:
Illinois Coronavirus Update April 15: 868 Deaths, 23,247 Cases
Joliet's Sunshine Cafe: 'First 2 Weeks I Was Super Afraid'
Hamburgerseria: 'Give A Heart, Get A Free Milkshake'
This article originally appeared on the Joliet Patch
