Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Tim Vakakes inside the Vinnie Baggs space when it was under construction, in the Edgewood Shopping Center.
When Tim Vakakes decided to lease the former La Bamba space for his new restaurant, Vinnie Baggs, he had never even seen it. He knew the area and knew the restaurant had 1930s-style ceilings that matched the look he wanted, but Vakakes didn’t go inside the restaurant until 1006 Oxmoor Road was already his.
Vakakes said he feels fortunate that his restaurant’s home turned out to be a perfect fit for the place he wanted to create — a small neighborhood grill modeled after the local restaurants he knew and loved in Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Vinnie Baggs, scheduled to open for business in the next few weeks, pulls from the Vakakes family’s Greek and Italian roots, particularly his wife Diane Vakakes’ years spent in Chicago.
“She grew up around some really good cooks,” Tim Vakakes said.
The lunch and dinner menu includes items such as an Italian meatball sandwich, Greek souvlaki sandwich, beef brisket with potato latkes, lamb, grilled fish, burgers, pasta and “meatier” salads.
Vakakes said the meals will be in the $8 to $10 range, and he also is bringing in fresh bread from Chicago.
There will be a small bar, and the restaurant will be able to seat about 42 people.
“It’s like going to my house. You’re going to eat. You’re going to put on some pounds,” Vakakes said.
The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., perhaps later on the weekends, and will open early to serve breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
Vakakes said lunch will be served more quickly to accommodate a work crowd, while dinner will be slower.
Though there is a bar, Vakakes said there will be a kids’ menu and the restaurant will sport a family-friendly atmosphere.
The slower pace, along with the classic rock and blues music he plans to play, will contribute to the neighborhood hangout Vakakes wants to create. It’s something he said he and his wife have felt Homewood has needed for a couple years.
Vakakes and his brother Pete started the original PT’s on Hollywood Boulevard in 1982, which was there for 20 years.
He also helped start the PT’s location in SoHo, though he is no longer involved with the restaurant. He said it took the right place and the right people coming together to make him want to start a new dining concept.
“This isn’t something that was pulled from the air,” he said.
For diners who remember the original PT’s, Vinnie Baggs is carrying over a little bit of that history. The name, in part, comes from Vakakes’ cousin Vinnie Scalici, who worked at PT’s and is part of the new restaurant’s staff.
If Vinnie Baggs is a hit, Vakakes said he hopes to eventually have more than one restaurant carrying the name.
“We’re going to have fun with it,” Vakakes said.
