It’s been a heart-breaking ride for the owners of Taurus Restaurant, as they announced their intention to open back in 2014 in Portage Park. They’ll open finally open their doors on Monday at 4024 N. Milwaukee Ave., serving Italian food. The opening was delayed after a contractor bilked $30,000 from the immigrant owners.

Co-owner Silvanna Vidakovic explained Taurus’ story, how in February 2015 they discovered their contractor abused their trust and after two months was behind their construction schedule. Vidakovic is Croatian and Italian, while her husband, Rado, is German. They worked in the restaurant business back in Germany.

“To recover financially, it was challenging—it was a very hard time,” Vidakovic said.

That led to a lawsuit filed in April 2015. MGM Construction, out of Skokie, has since been dormant. It’s taken years to rebuild after the mess the contractor left Taurus is, but they haven’t been without help.

“We met a lot of good people, many subcontractors that were so good,” she said. “You cannot stereotype everybody because of one bad experience.”

They’ve taken that positive attitude and applied that to Taurus, Rado’s astrological sign. They’re baking Neapolitan pizza in a brick oven and will eventually serve house-made pastas.

The 80-seat space will have a full bar, and while the place is very much family oriented during the day, they’ll be open late and be more of a nightclub during later hours. They hope to be a place for one or two-piece light jazz bands.

Monday is only a soft opening, as Vidakovic said they still need to install a PA system and television. She wants to go “bombastic” in a few weeks with a grand opening. It’s been a long time coming.

“I can’t believe it, I’m still not believing it,” Vidakovic said. “I’m so excited and happy.”