When Theresa Easterday's father moved his Dyer restaurant from a leased location to his own building, that provided the impetus for her to open her own establishment. On their fifth wedding anniversary Easterday and her husband, Andrew, launched Little Italy in November 2013 in the Crown Plaza spot where her father, Vince Cryns, used to run Pop's Italian Beef & Sausage. He also owns Pop's in Crown Point as well as Illinois locations in Homewood and Lyons.

"We made the pricing what we would want to pay for dinner on a Wednesday night," said Easterday, co-owner and general manager of Little Italy, where her husband is the chef. "That's the whole basis of our concept — small menus, items made fresh and it's not going to break your bank." Here is the dish on this local eatery, where familiar faces include server Gail Yonker, of Schererville: