Elegant Touch Staffing Wins Excellence Award

Barbara Gilleece of Barbaras Elegant Touch Staffing has won the 2012 Business Excellence Award .She is a director at the Darien chamber and also the chairwomen of the Women in Business.

Zazzo's Pizzeria Gets New Owner Who Grew Up in Pizza Biz

Dominic Barraco, the son of the founder of the south side favorite Barraco's Pizza, has taken the reins at Zazzo's in Darien. Among other changes, he's introduced lunch hours to the restaurant.

About four months after taking over Zazzo's Pizzeria & Catering in Darien, new owner Dominic Barraco celebrated with (what else?) a pizza party.  The Darien Chamber of Commerce orchestrated a ribbon-cutting to reintroduce Zazzo's to chamber and community members. Front and center was Dominic Barraco, who comes from a lineage of pizza restaurateurs that includes owning the Barraco's Pizza locations and working at Vito and Nick’s.  Dominic became the owner of Zazzo's, located at 7360 Route 83, on Oct. 1, 2012.  "We're just trying to get our name out in the community again and let them know we're here with new ownership," he said. Tell us what you think: Write a review of Zazzo's Pizzeria. The shop features the same great pizza, but there are…

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Best Pizza in Darien? Residents Give Home Run Inn the Nod

Home Run Inn edged out Jet's Pizza in a public taste test Sunday at Darien Days. What's your favorite local pizza?

In a battle of local pizza places, Home Run Inn narrowly defeated Jet's Pizza in a readers' choice taste test. The Pizza Throwdown was a part of the Darien Days business expo and holiday event. Home Run Inn won 67-66 after residents tried free pizza and got to vote for one of the options.  What's your favorite local pizza place? Tell us in the comments! Employees of Jet's and Home Run Inn said their pizza crust is what sets them apart. Jet's employees said they're able to "flavorize" their crusts to order. Home Run Inn employees countered that their flaky, buttery crusts make their pizza the best. Review these businesses: Home Run Inn Jet's Pizza In a Patch poll asking readers to pick their favorite pizza, Jet's had the upper hand with 48 …

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Local Chambers, 'Giving DuPage' Plan 9/11 Event to Promote Volunteerism

The Darien Chamber of Commerce will participate in the 11th annual Day of Service and Remembrance at the Grove Moose Lodge #1535 on Sept. 11.

The Darien Chamber of Commerce will partner with other area chambers and the nonprofit "Giving DuPage" next month to host a special "Business After Hours" to remember the events of 9/11. The 11th annual Day of Service and Remembrance will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Downers Grove Moose Lodge 1535, 1030 Warren Ave. During the event, chambers in Darien, Downers Grove, Lombard and Westmont will join together to connect churches, schools, businesses, scout troops, families and individuals with service projects in local not-for-profits.  Last year, in honor of the 10 anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Giving DuPage hosted a gathering that included music, speakers and on-site service projects at the Morton Arboretum. A new …

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Andrew Salgado Performs Tonight

Concert will take place at Darien Community Park from 7-8:30 p.m.

Just back from Nashville, singer/songwriter Andrew Salgado will perform at Darien Park District’s Concert in the Park from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the south pavilion at Darien Community Park. Hometown artist Salgado is making his mark on the music world by charming audiences across the country as he sings and plays guitar on his original country/pop songs. The young singer/songwriter has won semi-finalist honors in Billboard Magazine’s World Songwriting Contest and was named “Artist to Watch” by Skope magazine. Two highly respected members of the music industry were so impressed by Salgado’s talent that they have taken him under their wings in recent months. Salgado’s career is bound to take off to new heights with the help of superstar singer/…

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Battle of the Bands Judges Orchestrate a Winning Solution

Top-scoring band will open for main acts at DarienFest Sept. 8.

Battles don’t usually end well for the participants – but a war waged Saturday in Darien resulted in a positive outcome for all involved. Judges for the inaugural DarienFest Battle of the Bands found a peaceful solution to a confounding conflict – how to choose a winner among three talented young bands whose musical styles couldn’t have been more diverse. The bands, who took the stage at Q Billiards & Sports Bar Saturday, were vying for a chance to perform on the main stage at DarienFest on Saturday, Sept. 8. The bands Just a couple of years ago, the members of “Below Zero” were middle schoolers at Our Lady of Peace in Darien. On Saturday, they performed like seasoned musicians, confidently covering songs by groups such as All American …

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Darien Chamber Hosts After-Hours Event at Brunswick Zone

The Darien Chamber of Commerce partners with the Woodridge Chamber Wednesday for an event that includes free bowling, pizza and soda.

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Business Spotlight

'Whether You Need Shirts or Canned Hams, We’re Able to Do It'

The Darien couple behind Hutco helps organizations find marketing solutions.

Jerry Hutter and his wife, Linda Templin Hutter, each learned about business from their families. Now they are pooling their experience and talents in their own promotional-products business – Hutco, LLC. Linda Templin’s family owned the automotive-parts business that her grandfather bought in the 1940s. But Templin had other plans for her career. She studied communications at Eastern Illinois University. “I was always out doing something for the newspaper at the college,” she said. Templin tried radio and photography before selling ads for the newspaper. That led her to a job in outside sales with the Hammond Times.  Jerry Hutter left school for a job in retail sales. He was successful but not satisfied, and he began to look for other …

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Darien Dash 2012 Photos, Part Three

The final part in a three-part gallery of race day photos.

Hundreds of racers—from as far away as Rockford—gathered in Darien Community Park Sunday for the 12th annual Darien Chamber of Commerce Darien Dash. This year's event included a 5K, 10K and 1-mile fun run. View our photo gallery of the day's races and add your own pictures. Don't see your picture here? Check the first gallery we posted Monday and the second gallery we posted Tuesday! Get Darien Patch directly in your inbox by signing up for our daily newsletter.  

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Darien Dash 2012: More Photos from Sunday's Race

Part two in a three-part gallery of race day photos.

Hundreds of racers—from as far away as Rockford—gathered in Darien Community Park Sunday for the 12th annual Darien Chamber of Commerce Darien Dash. This year's event included a 5K, 10K and 1-mile fun run. View our photo gallery of the day's races and add your own pictures. Don't see your picture here? Check the first gallery we posted Monday, or come back Wednesday for the third installment of Darien Dash photos! Get Darien Patch directly in your inbox by signing up for our daily newsletter.

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