Restaurateurs grapple with changing economy, dining habits

Jeff Danna/Triblocal.com staff reporter 02/22/10 09:55 AM 98 hits

Ask Peter Vadopalas, director of economic development for the Village of Wheeling, about the state of Restaurant Row in 2010 and he’s pretty straightforward:

“Certainly better than it was in 2009. Without question, 2009 was probably the roughest business year in recent history.”

In recent years, the restaurateurs along the three-mile stretch of Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling have worked to adapt to changing dining habits. Not only has the weak economy forced people to limit their restaurant visits, but the culture of eating out—from the length of a meal to the seating arrangements—is much different today than it was 30 years ago, when some existing Restaurant Row establishments opened.

Restaurant Row is synonymous with Wheeling. Since the first tavern opened in 1837, the three-mile stretch of Milwaukee Avenue, roughly from Hintz Road on the south to Lake-Cook Road on the north, has been lined with restaurants, many of them upscale.

Ask any proprietor on the Row or any village official, and he or she will say that turnover occurs in waves. Save for a couple exceptions, it’s been a challenge to get new establishments to open on Milwaukee, and a few high-profile vacancies have stood out. Vadopalas said.

“The biggest blow we had last year was the closing of Don Roth’s, but that was a family decision,” he said, referring to the famous Don Roth’s Blackhawk, which served its final meals this past New Year’s Eve.

Several years ago, Le Francais, another longtime restaurant on the Row, closed its doors when the owner retired. The site remains vacant. To some people, the loss of such prominent restaurants has hurt Restaurant Row.

Eighty-three-year-old Hans Menchenbier, who has owned the Old Munich Inn at 528 N. Milwaukee Ave. for more than 30 years (he lives upstairs, too), said he recalls a time when the Row was filled with more diverse cuisines and the establishments were hopping on the weekends.

“It’s not that crazy anymore, like it used to be,” Menchenbier said.

A group of men gathered around a table one afternoon at the Old Munich Inn echoed Menchenbier’s comments. They said that in recent years, they have seen more condominiums and other hospitality establishments—namely the Westin Hotel—pop up on Restaurant Row.

“I don’t know if it’s going to stay Restaurant Row or not,” said Frank Bauer, 72, of Wheeling.

The men agreed that Milwaukee Avenue hasn’t been the same since it lost Le Francais.

“It [Le Francais] was good—wow!” said Tony Stiglmeier, 76, of Wauconda.

Frank Schaffner, 69, of Elmwood Park, chimed in: “That was the best one. And the owner was working. He was in the kitchen, not walking around with the menus.”

Like some of the others on Restaurant Row, Le Francais was the kind of restaurant that attracted locals, as well as serious diners from across the Chicago region.

Sherman Kaplan, a food critic for WBBM 780 and North Shore Magazine recalled a particular visit to Le Francais when the valet asked him to describe his car so it could be retrieved.

“I said, ‘It’s a silver Mercedes,’” Kaplan said. “He said, ‘Sir, they’re all silver Mercedes.’

“Le Francais—that’s what put Wheeling on the map.”

But not everyone agrees that Restaurant Row’s glory days are in the past. Vadopalas points to the opening of restaurants like Claim Jumper, Benihana and Buca di Beppo in the past decade as signs that the Row remains vital. And just last month, the second location of the venerable Chicago hot dog stand Superdawg opened on Restaurant Row.

He added that a restaurant consultant recently told him that when his clients are thinking about moving into the Chicago area, they look at three locations: the city of Chicago, Naperville and Wheeling.

Other restaurateurs said that although the poor economy has forced them to make some changes in their businesses, they are generally doing well.

“[Restaurant Row] is still pretty strong,” said Deno Roumanidakis, general manager of Bob Chinn’s Crab House, which has called Milwaukee Avenue its home for 27 years. “You still see the restaurants doing pretty good despite the economy.”

He said that while corporate businesses have not been booking major gatherings at Bob Chinn’s lately, the restaurant still packs people in on the weekends.

And Restaurant Row has turned out to be a prized location for Chicago Bagel and Bialy Deli, which left its former home at Dundee and Schoenbeck roads about a decade ago to make way for a Walgreens.

Manager J. Ulises Bello said that since the restaurant moved, it has expanded beyond homemade bagels and now serves grill items and other fare.

Vadopalas said it is not unusual for restaurants—and Restaurant Row—to have to adapt to changing times. For example, Superdawg is the first fast food restaurant to open on Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling.

And more national chains have moved to the Row. Diners no longer see many establishments like Le Francais, with large kitchens and small dining areas. Restaurants today work to serve more people more quickly.

“The three-hour dinner is gone, Vadopalas said. “People just don’t dine like that anymore.”

Soon, he expects to see more changes coming to Restaurant Row. The village has been in contact with prospective tenants for two prime spots along Milwaukee Avenue—one of which is the former Le Francais site.

“We take some pride in Restaurant Row,” Vadopalas said. “It’s the key destination aspect of Wheeling.”

By Jeff Danna
Triblocal.com reporter



Wheeling Historical Society and Museum