(Photo by Vicky Wedig)
Renovation, menu additions aim to attract area diners
By Vicky Wedig
Editor
After 20 years in business as an interstate truck stop, Darien’s West Wind Diner is changing its image.
Owners Advije and Isa Xheladini and their son, Shqiprim Xheladini, are changing the diner’s décor, menu and ambience to create a community restaurant that they hope will be a destination for diners from Darien and surrounding towns.
The diner’s loyal clientele of truckers, local farmers and Friday-night-fish-fry regulars, many of whom the Xheladinis know by name, are still welcome. West Wind’s hours, prices and name will stay the same, and its traditional menu items will still be offered, said Shqiprim Xheladini.
But, the exterior and interior of the building are undergoing renovation, new menu items will be offered and an outdoor patio and landscaping will be added in spring.
Construction began Oct. 6 to change the building’s facade from metal siding to concrete and stone with columns framing the entrance. Inside, the country décor – red walls with wainscoting, chicken decorations and linoleum – is being replaced with mahogany flooring, stone and earth tones for a more modern European feel, said Xheladini. Interior furniture will be re-upholstered and lighting will be installed to match the new look, he said.
“No more chickens,” Xheladini said.
The diner closed last week and was scheduled to reopen Wednesday to lay the flooring, and construction is expected to be completed by Christmas, Xheladini said.
In the spring, the Xheladinis plan to build a patio for outdoor dining and landscape a portion of the parking lot. The lot will still have space for semi-truck parking, Xheladini said.
Xheladini said the restaurant needed to be able to compete with the new restaurants that have opened since his parents bought the diner 14 years ago like Chili’s and Panera Bread in Delavan. He said Egg Harbor in Lake Geneva is the only place in the area that offers the outdoor patio dining that West Wind wants to bring to Darien to attract Delavan shoppers.
“Why not go for it?” he said.
The diner is known for its breakfasts and Friday night fish frys and will continue to offer those things and expand on them, he said. Its new breakfast menu will feature five varieties of Eggs Benedict including traditional and Florentine, new omelets, skillets, pancakes and waffles. Friday night fish frys will feature additional types of fish.
The menu will also feature new modern grill items with a focus on burgers. Xheladini said the new menu items will be in the same price range as existing meals. He said the restaurant also is trying to obtain a liquor license to offer beer and wine and attract evening diners.
A hostess station will be added inside the restaurant, and Xheladini plans to hire 10 new staff members including cooks, waitresses and dishwashers.
The restaurant, off Interstate 43 at Highway 14 in Darien, is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
