Plume Restaurant To Bring Italian Flavors To Rockford's North End

Forget the steins and sausages, Rockford! A new kind of deliciousness will soon be cooking in the historic walls of the former Der Rathskeller on Auburn St.

The History of Der Rathskeller in Rockford

Back in 2019, after 90 years of service, Der Rathskeller's owners announced they were permanently closing its doors, and the five years since then have been a bit rocky.

In 2020 new owners took over Der Rathskeller's historic building, gave it a facelift, and reopened the restaurant, but to put it bluntly, the COVID pandemic killed it and it closed again in 2021.

For over 3 years now the building has been waiting for new owners to give it life, and its wishes have finally been fulfilled!

A New Italian Restaurant is Coming to Rockford

Rockford's once oldest restaurant will soon be trading in its German heritage for a taste of Italy called, Plume.

Plume's website does not feature specific menu options yet, but it does say;

A sizable portion of our menu will feature fresh hand made pasta dishes. We want to offer some regionally traditional dishes from Rome and Emilia-Romagna that will be familiar, such as cacio e pepe, carbonara, and lasagne, but also showcase our seasonality and local farmers with inventive pasta dishes, small plates, and entrees.

Sounds delicious, right, but what about the atmosphere in the restaurant? Will it still have some of Der Rathskeller's cozy charm? Will we still be able to sit outdoors on that beautiful patio? Plume's website says, yes!

Walking in the doors at Plume, you can expect to find a cozy, intimate interior and a beautiful outdoor patio.

Plume Rockford has not announced an opening time frame, and it doesn't look like any remodeling is taking place inside the building yet, (I drive past it 2 times a day, 5 days a week), so I guess we will just have to impatiently wait for more updates coming soon.