Little Village moving into Kress

The Little Village restaurant is preparing to move a block, going from Lafayette Street into the Kress at Third & Main building. Wayne Stabiler, one of the owners of the Little Village, says the plan is to open the restaurant in the new location by Oct. 1. Little Village was set to be one of the first tenants of the mixed-use Kress building, but plans to open a second location on the site fell through about two years ago. “Things didn’t pan out then, but they came back to us and it worked out a lot better,” says Stabiler. The Little Village’s move was motivated chiefly by space considerations; it will occupy a newer, larger space at the Kress. Little Village was at the Lafayette Street location for about five years. “The building was a little older and it was time to go into something new,” Stabiler says. There will now be seating for about 125 people, while the current building has seating for about 75. “We’re going to keep the old Italian look,” Stabiler says. While the menu will remain largely the same, there are plans to add additional seafood dishes. Stabiler says the management intends at this time to keep Willies on the River, a downtown bar, open in the basement of the building on Lafayette and Main Streets. —Timothy Boone