“Sharing life over plates” — that’s the motto at Vai’s in Naperville. It’s on the backs of the servers’ shirts and hung on the wall inside. Co-owner Sandy Georganas explains it as coming together over food, over a meal: “Everything about it is inviting, nothing is pretentious.”

“We like really good food. We like Italian food,” said co-owner Anthony Vai. “We don’t like to be restricted. We take inspiration from all different places. We have classic-style recipes and look at what’s new and what’s hot, and the Italian ways we can incorporate dishes from around the world. Pizza is a beautiful platform for everything. Pasta is a beautiful platform for everything.”