Giada De Laurentiis Says Fans Will ‘Have a Blast’ As She Brings Her Culinary Prowess to a New Major US City

Culinary powerhouse Giada De Laurentiis is taking her Italian roots to the Windy City over the next year as she plans to open two new Chicago hot spots. 

“The Midwest is a place that I haven’t been able to tap all these years, so it’s exciting to be able to do that and to have two different types of restaurants — one that’s more casual, Sorellina [by Giada], and then one that’s more of a Tuscan steak house (I’ve never done that concept either) called Sorella [by Giada],” De Laurentiis tells PEOPLE, noting that the names of the restaurants translate from Italian to English as Big Sister and Little Sister.

Set to open in late 2025, Sorellina by Giada will open at the Hollywood Casino Joliet just outside of the city, while Sorella by Giada is slated to open its doors in the first half of 2026 at the Hollywood Casino Aurora.

Both restaurants will have the Giadzy founder’s signature Italian touch and modern California influences noted throughout the spaces, from the light and casual atmosphere to be featured at Sorellina to the more rustic and refined sit-down experience at Sorella.

But despite the difference in cuisine and atmosphere, De Laurentiis says it’s crucial to be able to create a homey and inviting feel at all of her dining destinations in order to create an experience that’s both authentic to her and inviting to her guests.

She first honed in on this concept when she opened her first outpost, Giada at the Cromwell in Las Vegas, in July 2024.

“Vegas will always have a special place in my heart. It’s the first restaurant I ever opened. It’s been over 10 years. I mean, the fact that I’m still successful on the strip after all of this time in a hotel that is smaller than my restaurant, meaning it has less rooms than my own restaurant has, I’ve had to really pull from the strip,” she explains. “Without Vegas, none of the rest would have been possible — it will always be my number one love. And the space is so phenomenal, and I got to build it from scratch.”

Following the opening of Giada, the Super Italian author expanded into the Vegas scene with Pronto and Pronto Wine Bar at Caesars Palace for the more casual diners. 

Most recently, she expanded into the Scottsdale, Ariz., market with Luna by Giada which opened its doors in March 2024.

“I think that I’ve had time to really get to know my clientele, and to get to know the customers and see what they want and where they come from and who they are, and so I’ve done a lot of market research with the restaurants, and I think that that has given me the ability to expand into the Scottsdale market successfully, and then hopefully into the Chicago market successfully,” De Laurentiis muses.

The chef jokes that she must have sold over half a million of her Lemon Spaghetti dishes in Vegas through Giada  and maybe another half a million of her beloved Lemon Ricotta cookies through her other Vegas outposts.

“People come to Vegas just for that. And now I’ve put it on my Scottsdale menu, people come to Scottsdale, as well, for the same dish over and over and over,” she says. “I don’t know, it just makes me smile. I’m so honored.”

Though the spaces of her different eateries are different in both clientele, size and the specifics of each cuisine, the Giada in Italy star maintains a common thread of being hands on to the inception of each environment in order to create an environment for diners that was handpicked by and from her.

“I work closely with the designers and with the architects as to the feel of the restaurant, the look, the colors, the materials, you know, with Vegas as well as Scottsdale, I sat in the tables and chairs. I helped lay out the space. I mean, I love that part of the design and architecture.” 

She continues, “That’s the thing that I work on the most, is to make the space feel warm and cozy, as if you’re coming over for dinner, casual but elegant. It’s really walking that line, and that has a lot to do with colors and materials and looks, and even the entrance.”

Because to De Laurentiis, dining at one of her restaurants should not just be a meal, it should be an experience – a very warm and Italian one at that. 

“It’s that moment of hospitality and that feeling of inviting you in with that smile, and that is what I try to capture. And it has to happen in every part and every element, not just the food, from the moment you see the space, from the moment you walk into the space, I want you to feel like you’ve gotten a big, giant hug from me, that all will be okay while we’re here, and we’re gonna have a blast.”