Fausto's in Arlington Heights to add beer and wine, along with outdoor dining

Fausto's Italian Kitchen is the latest downtown Arlington Heights restaurant adding alcohol to its menu offerings.

The eatery has been nestled in the Evergreen shopping center at 16 S. Evergreen Ave. since 2000, offering takeout, dine-in and catering of southern Italian comfort food. The previous owners wanted to close for good at the height of the pandemic, but Leonard Gjoni took over and has been running the business for the last three years.

Now he's planning to add outdoor dining on a small patio, just as he received a village liquor license this week for beer and wine service.

"What Leo does over there - it reminds me of when I visit Italy because it's a true deli," said Trustee Jim Bertucci, who lives across the street in an Evergreen condo. "But the one thing that I always thought was missing when I have their pasta or vegetables - I need some wine at dinnertime."

That's exactly why Gjoni said he applied for the liquor license.

"To make it a little bit better and to have people enjoy the pasta and food," he said.

Gjoni previously ran Cafe Il Cortile on Lawrence Avenue in Chicago, and a restaurant in Italy.

With the new liquor license, he plans to expand his hours at Fausto's to close at 9 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.

It's the second liquor license approved for a downtown business in as many months. Porky's BBQ, just down the block at 41 S. Dunton Ave., added beer and wine, as well as indoor dining, to their storefront eatery.