A Date In La Grange Led To Restaurant Dream

LA GRANGE, IL – Fourteen years ago, Jonathan and Brianna Cowan went on a date in La Grange. That had an impact.

"We walked around and fell in love with the town, just a great place," Jonathan Cowan said during this week's Village Board meeting.

Now, they are planning to open Wooden Paddle pizzeria and the Remi event venue at 23 W. Calendar Ave. Their timeline is "soonish," which they define as early March.

At its meeting, the board approved liquor licenses for the businesses.

In 2013, the couple opened Wooden Paddle in Orland Park, which had four stools. They realized they needed a sit-down establishment.

Four years later, they tried to buy a building in La Grange, but it did not fit within their budget. So they opened Wooden Paddle in Lemont.

But La Grange was still on their minds, Jonathan said. In 2022, they bought the Pillars Community Health building on Calendar Avenue. Renovations started last May.

Jonathan said they have catered more than 500 weddings over the years, involving about 150 venues.

"We've been able to take notes along the way on what would be a great wedding venue," he said. "We'll be able to seat 200 people with a dance floor."

Cowan credited Charity Jones, the village's community development director, for her assistance.

"It is really stressful doing this big of a project," he said. "I think it's a great place to invest money in La Grange. But Charity Jones ... you really helped me out mentally a few times during this process. Thank you so much."

One of the remaining issues is a final connection from ComEd, he said. He asked for the village's help to reach ComEd's engineers to make sure the restaurant is fully connected before opening.

Village President Mark Kuchler said the village would work with its ComEd contact to see what the holdup is.

Wooden Paddle has an active social media presence, with videos featuring the Cowans and others. They document the project's progress.