Only a sidewalk sign on Kirkwood Avenue points to the alley where Osteria Rago is located.
One of Bloomington’s newest Italian restaurants, which is owned by the same people who own Nick’s English Hut, has been open since Jan. 17. But its inconspicuous location can make it difficult to find.
“We haven’t done a lot of advertising to get the masses in because we’ve had too many situations that needed to be tweaked,” co-owner Susan Bright said. “Systems ironed out, staffing trained.”
One project they are working on that could attract more customers is a grab-and-go. It would allow customers to walk in, go up to the counter in the back of the restaurant and order cuisine to go.
Bright said she hopes to have the grab-and-go running by the end of this year.
Another addition to the business is a speakeasy upstairs. The speakeasy would be like a bar and they would serve liquor along with the beer and wine already available at the restaurant.
Bright said she hopes to have it opened by the end of 2019.
The idea for a speakeasy ties back to Nick’s English Hut’s long history.
“The first owner opened Nick’s during prohibition,” Bright said.
Bright said Nick’s and Osteria Rago’s buildings line up, so they could possibly connect the speakeasy to Nick’s.
Currently, the restaurant boasts authentic Italian dishes by making their pasta fresh daily.
The pasta is made in their kitchen using a large machine that Bright said can produce up to 100 pounds of pasta per hour.
Bright said the inspiration for this restaurant came from her husband, Gregg Rago, who has Italian ancestry.
“He’s used to eating good authentic Italian food,” Bright said. “Bloomington’s never really had a really good Italian restaurant.”
Osteria Rago offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. However, the breakfast menu is not all Italian food.
"Some of it's Italian like the frittatas, which are very good by the way." said marketing director Mitch Craig. "Then we added some more mainstream American dishes that people want when they go out to breakfast."
There is also a full coffee bar that offers espressos and coffees.
“We’re looking forward to building and having the best, most authentic Italian food in Bloomington,” Craig said.
