News:

Driving down Willow Road in Northbrook, passersby may be startled to see a sign for a new venue called Pinstripes, billed as "bowling, bocce, bistro."

An upscale restaurant with bowling and bocce?

You read that sign correctly.

Entrepreneur and Colorado transplant Dale Schwartz, now a resident of The Glen in Glenview, is the first to agree that no one has ever tried just this combination.

"We are Italian and American. We have gelato and ice cream, bocce and bowling. No one has ever married the two," he said.

Schwartz has dreams of taking his Pinstripes concept nationwide and already is scouting around for a second location in the west suburbs.

"He's very, very smart. He's done his research," said Michael Grasser, vice president of the U.S. Bocce Federation and a resident of Sylvan Lake, Mich.

From his childhood days in suburban Cleveland, right up to the two decades since he picked up an MBA from Harvard, Schwartz has been running the show.

Most recently, he founded and was co-CEO of Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy Inc., a successful chain of pharmacies based in Colorado with locations throughout the West that has melded traditional and natural medicinal products.

What all his ventures have in common is a new concept, he said.

"With Pharmaca and this, it's redefining an industry. When you do something different, you give the consumer an alternative, something that wasn't out there before," he said.

Schwartz said his dream of opening the bowling and bistro venue goes back many years.

He decided to add on bocce, which has many similarities to bowling, after visiting some successful new restaurants on the West Coast that also mix upscale Italian food with the game that originated in Italy.

Other bocce/restaurants include Campo di Bocce, a 14,000-square-foot club and restaurant in Livermore, Calif.; Pallino Pastaria, founded in 1999 and now with seven locations in Washington state; and Palazzo di Bocce in Sylvan Lake, Mich. And many California wineries - Sonoma County was settled by Italians - also offer bocce with wine tastings.

Mario Pagnoni, who has a Web site called joyofbocce.com, is thrilled at the new bocce and restaurant combinations going up. "It looks like these types of bocce facilities (restaurant, bar and high end bocce court) will proliferate (can't wait till someone builds one in New England) and will help the game hit mainstream," Pagnoni's Web site states.

Adding the bowling to this combination appears to be a first. Why'd he do it?

"I bowled as a kid and always loved it," Schwartz said.

From the acoustical system to the quality of the bocce courts, Schwartz has made sure that his 45,000-square-foot Pinstripes (the name harkens to both bowling pins and up-scale clothes) is perfect.

General Manager Chris Soukup managed the Cheesecake Factory's Grand Lux, and Executive Chef Mark Grimes, trained at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and formerly worked at Maggiano's and ESPN Zone. They lead a 150-person staff.

As visitors enter the complex's main entrance with 50-foot ceilings, all the entertainment options are visible.

To the left sit four indoor bocce courts with leather couches for on-lookers.

To the right are 18 bowling lanes. On a recent weekday afternoon, bowlers were serenaded by Italian opera music piped from speakers. Along the back wall of the lanes are huge black and white photos of the 1902 Chicago bowling championship games.

Straight ahead is a greystone bar with Jerusalem stone floors, and behind that a wine cellar and a sit-down Italian-American restaurant.

Up a staircase, a balcony provides views to the entry, and behind that, another two dining rooms are available for private celebrations or corporate parties.

A pro shop is located off the front entrance.

Two more bocce courts are outside next to a fireplace. The green vista to the west includes Willow Hill Golf Course, built on a former landfill planted with grass.

Schwartz paid particular attention to the bocce courts. They are of tournament quality, said Grasser, whose team last year was the North American bocce champion based out of

Tony Battaglia's Michigan restaurant, and who was at Pinstripes' grand opening several weeks ago.

Schwartz consulted Battaglia on the bocce courts' design, and said he also had a bocce court designer flown in from Italy.

Schwartz plans to host the World Bocce Tournament at Pinstripes next year.

The 12-acre site where Pinstripes sits will also soon include a new five-story Sheraton, slated to open in 15 months, Schwartz said.

Schwartz has made an effort to reach out to local political and business leaders as well as bocce players in Highwood's Italian community.

Ron Bernardi of Northbrook's Sunset Foods contributed a Sophia Loren portrait that hangs on the wall of the restaurant, Schwartz said.

Local corporations, including Crate and Barrel, Allstate and Kraft have lined up to hold events at Pinstripes through 2009, he said.

But whether the Pinstripes concept will take off is hard to say, said Sharon Zackfia, who follows the restaurant industry for William Blair & Co. of Chicago. Successful restaurants must satisfy customers in three essentials: food, service and ambiance, she said.

Schwartz said his restaurant appeals not only to the palate, but also to everyone's desire to have fun. "There's a lot of children in every adult. We are just redefining entertaining," he said.

Click to view in PDF