In a season of cheer and charm, there is no joy in one corner of Lake County. A week before Christmas, a popular restaurant closed its doors.
The owners of the Woodfire Tavern at Route 83 and Gilmer Road in Long Grove announced on Dec. 18 on Facebook that they were calling it quits after seven years dishing out meals to a steady stream of customers. The eatery opened six months before the COVID-19 pandemic and survived in a changed landscape.
The coronavirus outbreak was when Gov. JB Pritzker gutted the state’s hospitality industry (with the exception of gaming establishments) by ordering mandatory restaurant closures. For some, the comeback hasn’t materialized as restaurants were among the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic.
“With heavy hearts we announce that Woodfire Tavern will be closing its doors,” the Facebook post said. “We have truly loved serving this community for seven memorable years and hope to see you again one day in a future venture.”
The closure of family-friendly Woodfire is becoming a recurring theme in the region and state as restaurants continue to struggle in a current economy unkind to culinary professionals. That is despite what President Donald Trump boasted about his economic stewardship during his nationwide speech last week.
The National Restaurant Association estimates a 30% failure rate in the restaurant industry, although the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts that number for first-year restaurants at only 17%. Yet, profit margins remain slim, staff turnover is unusually fluid and financial challenges remain from the five-year-old pandemic.
Prior to Woodfire shuttering its doors, Tina’s Italian Café and Bake Shop, which anchored one end of Saratoga Square at Route 21 and Washington Street in Gurnee, closed earlier this month. It was not economic pressures that led owner Tina Tortorici to end her culinary adventure.
She decided it was time to retire after serving Italian sweets, sandwiches and salads since 2001 at the cozy café nestled in a corner of the strip mall, which continues to include several offerings of various cuisines. Tortorici may resurface in the area after some traveling, especially to her native Italy.
The challenges facing the Illinois restaurant industry aren’t just among independent and local, family-owned establishments. Chain eateries, from Outback Steakhouse to Applebee’s to Red Lobster, have closed multiple locations across the state in the past few years.
As Woodfire’s owners posted on Facebook: “Product costs have risen sharply, utility expenses have doubled, rent has increased, and our water-and-sewer costs have surged by an astonishing 247%, totaling nearly $370,000 annually through service from the Preserves and Lake County water and sewer. At the same time, ComEd bills reached a high at $4,500.”
While financial concerns might have been the main reason for Woodfire’s demise, finding employees was also at play, according to owners. “Staffing — finding and retaining quality servers, cooks and support staff — has been increasingly difficult,” they added.
Some may remember the two-story Woodfire, which draws from a customer base in the Mundelein-Lake Zurich-Long Grove-Vernon Hills area, was a roadhouse deli back in the day, complete with an actual smokehouse, which still stands next to busy Route 83. After that, it was turned into Gridley’s Grille, then Pub 83, and eventually into Woodfire.
Once surrounded by truck farms, suburbanization began to encroach on the site in the 1980s and ‘90s. Residential subdivisions sprung up along Gilmer Road and nearby Diamond Lake and Indian Creek roads.
Known for its wide barbecue menu from an in-house smoker, wood-fired pizzas and pub-food cuisine, the restaurant also offered an upstairs venue room for larger events, such as class reunions and family affairs, along with live music in the comfy bar. Video gaming machines were available in the restaurant’s bar area. There were two dog-friendly outdoor patios, which featured local musicians during sunny summer months.
Its loss will be felt by those who found the eatery a local comfort and neighborhood go-to place. The owners also have a sports bar/restaurant in Prospect Heights, Rocky’s American Grill on Milwaukee Avenue, south of Willow Road.
The site is a prime location in an upscale semi-rural area of Lake County. Undoubtedly, another restaurateur will take a gamble and reopen the eatery, perhaps in a new iteration.
That’s what happens in the shifting and at times difficult hospitality industry. Entrepreneurs are always looking to invest in culinary joy.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com
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