Downtown Skokie has become home to an Italian restaurant, Ascione Bistro, which opened recently at the Highpoint at 8000 North, a mixed-use, high-rent apartment building. It sits at the heart-of-the-village intersection of Oakton Street and Lincoln Avenue.
Owned by third-generation restaurant owner Alex Argirov and his wife Lauren Lucchesi, the Skokie eatery at 8000 N. Lincoln is the couple’s second restaurant. They also own Ascione Bistro in Hyde Park.
It provides an additional restaurant option in the area, as do other recent arrivals such as Bar Siena at Old Orchard Shopping Center, Crosby’s Kitchen in Niles and The Spot Rotary Hot Pot in downtown Skokie.
At 5,000 square feet, the Skokie location of Ascione is much bigger than the Hyde Park location and has free valet parking, according to Lucchesi. The Skokie location has 24-seat bar serving classic cocktails.
It also has patio seating and semi-open-air seating, Argirov said.
Ascione’s featured items include house meatballs, which Argirov said are made fresh and by hand; a salad named The Tomato, somewhat similar to a Caprese salad; wild board ragu and Arancini di Ascione, served with a truffle risotto. Argirov said the restaurant features Lucchesi family recipes from Southern Italy that go back generations. The menu also includes pastas, steaks, fish and a smash burger.
“We wanted to expand our business and (were) just looking to do something close to our house,” Lucchesi said. “Something for our friends, something for our family and people in the area to enjoy.”
“Skokie downtown and Skokie in general, is changing a lot, and we did our best to make this place what it is,” Argirov said.
“COVID changed a lot of things,” Argirov said, referring to diners’ spending habits and where they go out to eat. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s always going to be good business and good corners [in Chicago] but a complex web of real estate, financiers and audiences are pushing some restaurants into the suburbs.”
Argirov lamented that he had hoped for Ascione to open a second restaurant in Hyde Park or the West Loop, but those plans never materialized.
“Opening a restaurant is such a hard thing,” said Chef Jason Qureshi, adding that Ascione’s Hyde Park staff is assisting in launching the Skokie location.
Ascione’s Skokie location will have all the classics of the original Hyde Park location, according Qureshi, with some tweaks.
The restaurant is open every day from 3 to 10 p.m., according to its website.
According to the village of Skokie’s Communications and Community Engagement Director Patrick Deignan, development at the Highpoint is nearly complete. Another business, such as retail or a restaurant, could fill a 3,000 square foot space there, he said. Apartments at the Highpoint are also completely leased, Deignan said.
“Ascione’s opening adds to the growing excitement in Downtown Skokie, supporting the area as a vibrant destination for residents and visitors. We’re thrilled about the energy and increased foot traffic the restaurant will bring, benefitting both new and existing businesses,” Deignan said in email to Pioneer Press.
According to Deignan, Bonbon Bakeshop is anticipated to open at 5023 Oakton Street in the next several months, offering boutique chocolates, baked goods and gelato. The village will also soon allow developers to submit proposals for the former site of Annie’s Pancake House at 4900 Oakton St., which the village bought in November 2024 and subsequently razed to connect the Illinois Science + Technology Park to downtown Skokie.