Francesca’s by the River in downtown St. Charles is looking to reopen next month with a new name and new look, still located at 200 S 2nd St.
Scott Harris Hospitality will reopen the restaurant in mid-July 2022 under the name Francesca’s Mio Modo, which translates to “Francesca’s my way.” The new restaurant will have new lighting fixtures, tables, plate ware, glassware, and a double-sided fireplace, all to resemble an authentic Italian environment. Hector Lopez will remain as the restaurant’s general manager and is looking to bring on a few more hires before the official reopening. This remodel is the result of a new direction for the company, as well as customer feedback.
“We changed the name of our company to Scott Harris Hospitality to reflect where Scott wants to go next,” Hobert Whitworth, director of operations for Scott Harris Hospitality, tells Shaw Local. “We just had our 30-year anniversary in February. Obviously, we’ve been around a long time in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Scott wants us to see where we can go in the next 30 years. Francesca’s Mio Modo is Scott’s reimagining of our restaurants. It’s going to be him doing it again with all the knowledge and experience that he has.”
Owner/ co-founder Scott Harris first opened a restaurant in Chicago in 1992 and now has 13 locations throughout Illinois. When the downtown St. Charles location reopens, guests can expect some new menu items as well. Francesca’s Mio Modo will also start offering brunch, something the company has done before for special events such as Mother’s Day.
“We’re going to keep some old favorites, obviously the staples that people in St. Charles have come to know and love,” Whitworth said. “But Scott and the chef team are going to do some different things. We’re going to get more on trend with what’s going on in the food industry right now – smaller plates, more vegetables and healthier options. We’re going to kind of stretch our limits and try things that we might not have tried in the past.”
Please re-open Edgewater location!