A local pizzeria is working on a new location in La Grange.
Wooden Paddle is coming to 23 Calendar Avenue, with a full-service restaurant and a banquet space upstairs.
Founded in 2013, Wooden Paddle can currently be found in Lemont at 212 Stephen Street. The restaurant comes from husband-and-wife duo Jonathan and Brianna Cowan.
The menu includes wood-fired pizza in varieties like Pepperonly, The Original Mr. Beef, Smoke & Shrooms, Gettin’ Figgy With It (featuring fig jam), and more. Pasta, meat dishes, salads are also among the offerings, and desserts like housemade gelato and sorbet and a caramelized banana split are there for those with a sweet tooth. The beverage program features beer, wine and cocktails.
The team has been documenting the buildout of the new restaurant on their YouTube channel, highlighting the ups and downs of the process. “We Moved An Entire Restaurant By Ourselves” documents the laborious process of moving equipment from a storage unit to the new space – and troubleshooting hurdles like a cooler being too tall to fit through the door. Another video, “When the HVAC Killed the Vibe,” humorously documents their spiral over the building’s unsightly HVAC system. The moral of the story, as stated by Brianna in the video: “Everything is figure out-able.”
The upstairs event space is called Remi. The 6,000-square-foot space includes a cocktail bar, catering kitchen, and private room for getting ready. Wooden Paddle’s experience in catering inspired them to create their own banquet space.
The La Grange Board of Trustees has approved the liquor license for the restaurant and event space, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Follow on Instagram @woodenpaddle.
