Details emerge on incoming bakery-sandwich shop from owners of Sophia Steak

The team behind an acclaimed recent addition to Wilmette’s dining scene is moving forward with another North Shore restaurant.

The Record reported in May that Ballyhoo Hospitality, the company that operates downtown-Wilmette’s Sophia Steak, is planning a diner-style eatery on Greenleaf Avenue. New details show that Buck Russell’s is set to open this fall at 1133-1139 Greenleaf Ave.

The restaurant will be a bakery and sandwich shop, according to information from the restaurant group. The company compares Buck Russell’s to the “best bakery and sandwich shop you know, (kicked) up a few notches.” 

Buck Russell’s will serve “hot-griddled and sliced-to-order deli sandwiches, crisp chopped salads and more,” company officials say. The bakery component of the eatery will feature “an all-day menu of pastries, freshly baked sticky buns, coffee cakes, pies, crullers, buttery cookies, cupcakes and more.” 

The bakery aspect will have a separate retail presence and will include a “coffee component,” company officials said.  

Rick Goldman — an executive with Rethink Solutions, a development management company working with Ballyhoo — told Wilmette’s Appearance Review Commission in July that Buck Russell’s will be a place “for the community to gather and have some really good food,” according to village documents. 

The restaurant group is proposing to remodel the existing exterior storefronts and is seeking approval for a sign variation to display an internally illuminated projecting sign. Its request will appear in front of the Wilmette Village Board on its consent agenda during its Tuesday, July 27 meeting. 

The Appearance Review Commission unanimously recommended approval of the request. 

Buck’s Russell’s is Ballyhoo Hospitality’s third swing at adding to the North Shore’s restaurant scene. 

In addition to 2020’s Sophia Steak, the company is nearing the opening Pomeroy, a French bistro in Winnetka, as previously reported by The Record. 

The restaurant, behind executive chef Jason Paskewitz, is slated to open soon at 844 Spruce St. near the village’s downtown area. 

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