New Belleville restaurant to offer Greek, Chicago-inspired eats. Here’s what to know

Wise Guys is a new restaurant opening soon at 500 S. Illinois St. in Belleville.

It’s like “The Godfather” is coming downtown.

Sort of. There are a few key differences.

Think Greece instead of Sicily, Chicago instead of New York, and a touch of the Sopranos instead of the Corleones. But without all the drama or violence. Or the mafia.

Well, OK, so it’s not like “The Godfather” – or “The Sopranos” – at all.

But there are two wise guys (wiseacres, not mobsters), as owner Tony Mag jokingly referred to himself and business partner Sam Ramadan.

Mag calls their new Wise Guys restaurant the “first of its kind in this area.”

Wise Guys started in Godfrey, according to Mag. They opened in 2016 at 3200 Godfrey Road and closed in 2018-19.

Now they’re setting up shop in Belleville at the former site of a Jack in the Box, which closed in spring 2021.

Starting in October, they bring a menu full of Greek inspiration and a fair amount of Chicago-style eats.

An inspired menu

Most of the dishes feature Vienna Beef products. (Signage throughout the restaurant and a wall mural feature the Chicago-based manufacturer and their famous hot dogs.)

Wise Guys will serve up a variety of one-of-a-kind sandwiches and gyros, including a Philly steak, chicken Philly, grilled chicken pita, cod fish sandwich and veggie pita.

Sandwiches will be served on paper printed to look like old newspaper pages, which I find appealing. (Blame the day job.)

Customers can also partake of items from the “Italian” part of the menu – Italian beef sandwich, Italian sausage sandwich, the Italian combo and a meatball sandwich.

(Did you know that the Italian beef sandwich originated in Chicago? I didn’t. I love learning something new every day.)

Burgers, hot dogs and a variety of sides, baked potatoes, salads, desserts (Cedar Crest Ice Cream and homemade baklava!) and meals for the kids are on the menu.

Getting ready

Mag and Ramadan spent the last four months preparing to open.

A lot of work – cleaning and checking for mold and painting – was done. Signage was recently installed.

Preparation also included getting equipment delivered and set up, passing city inspections and placing food orders, some of which are already coming in.

Mag said that more orders are expected later this week and that produce will be ordered and received closer to opening to ensure they can provide the freshest food possible.

Basically, the big jobs are done and the finishing touches are what’s left.

Mag said that passing inspection was “the easiest thing ever.”

He added that the City of Belleville was “very helpful” in getting ready. The building inspectors and electricians helped him get everything done right and up to code.

Folks from the city were always encouraging, he said, and are among those excited about the opening.

I myself had a reader recently ask when Wise Guys would open. (Just a reminder: Readers’ questions and input are always welcome.)

People are definitely interested in the new business.

According to Mag, since they’ve been working on the restaurant, people would come through the drive-thru to see what was going on.

The restaurant placed a cone in the drive-thru lane to discourage this until they open, he said.

Mag is excited, and once they open the doors (and drive-thru), he hopes to see many people come to the restaurant.

“I wish I could open tomorrow,” said Mag.

About Wise Guys

Wise Guys is located at 500 S. Illinois St. in Belleville and opens the first week in October.

Dining options will include dine-in, drive-thru, carryout and delivery (via a third party service like DoorDash).

Hours will likely be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

For more information about Wise Guys, call 618-744-7017 or visit the Facebook page.