The Willow Glen Resident

Better late than never for the Mio Vicino restaurant

Owners of traditional Italian eatery plan a late May opening

By Cecily Barnes

The locally owned Italian restaurant Mio Vicino, whose owners signed a lease to join the new strip mall on Lincoln Avenue last October, finally began construction Thursday, April 16, and is set to open by late May. Although the Italian eatery had originally scheduled a February opening, it's better late than never, says owner Jerry Boone.

"It's not that we don't want to move in; we've just spent the better half of the last three months trying to get our approvals," Boone said. "Plans have now been approved, except for one more mechanical thing."

Boon says the plumbing and wiring will be installed over the next few weeks, followed by the interior facade. The whole process should take four to six weeks.

Mio Vicino, which serves traditional Italian cuisine, already operates restaurants in Santa Clara and Campbell. Owners Boone and Diane Rose chose Willow Glen as their third location because of the community feeling and vibrant downtown.

"It's kind of like a little Los Gatos, [but] not inundated with too many restaurants." Boone said. "Everyone likes to walk around and frequent the businesses, and the demographics are unbeatable."

Once Mio Vicino moves in, only one space in the mall, which was previously the Electrical Appliance building, will remain vacant. Dave Taxin, a commercial developer employed by building owner Alex Byer, says the final spot should be filled within two weeks.

"We've had a couple people looking: a bakery, a children's clothing store and a kitchen accessory store," Taxin said. "We're just trying to pick and choose the right things for the community. We could have had that thing full with chain tenants a long time ago, but thank God we have a developer like Alex Byer who won't just put in whoever pays the highest rent."

Taxin and Byer have already been forced to reject a sushi restaurant because the site doesn't have enough parking to accommodate another sit-down restaurant. They turned down other interested tenants, such as Subway and other fast-food chains, because they didn't think they would mix well with the area.

"It's our last space," Taxin said. "We want to make the right choice."

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