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LITTLE VILLAGE — More than 70 years after opening the first Home Run Inn, owners of the popular local pizza chain are set to host a grand reopening next to the original Little Village storefront this week.
The new restaurant will be unveiled at at 4254 W. 31st St. next to the original restaurant Monday.
“We decided it was time to re-invest the building and the community,” said Gina Bolger, Home Run Inn’s senior vice president of branding. Her grandfather and father opened the restaurant. “It’s our roots, it’s where we came from and we want to make sure we bring it up to speed with the rest of the community.”
Credit: ProvidedThe new restaurant features seating for 250, a full bar with 42 drinks on tap, along with relics including the original Tiffany Lamps, the original cash register and a painting commissioned by the owners of dogs drinking at a bar, Bolger said.
Credit: ProvidedBolger said the new restaurant combines “the new Home Run Inn look and feel” with “important parts of the old building.”
Credit: ProvidedThe original building was constructed in the 1920s and the restaurant was opened in the 1947 by Bolger’s grandfather Nick Perrino and her father Joe Perrino.
“My great-grandparents’ home was attached to the back of the restaurant,” Bolger said.
Credit: ProvidedSince opening, the original Little Village location has undergone six remodels and expansions, but Bolger said it was time to rebuild the restaurant from scratch.
Credit: Provided“It is rebuilding our roots and rebuilding the community and giving back to a special place where we started,” Bolger said.
To celebrate the reopening, Bolger said the family-owned business also built a learning garden at nearby Little Village Landale High School with foundation Big Green in honor of her father, former CEO Joe Perrino, who passed away last year, Bolger said.
The garden aims to “help to educate kids about healthy eating habits,” she said.
The new restaurant will be open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, and noon-10 p.m. Sunday.
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