Oprah Closing Harpo Studios In West Loop
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It is the end of an era in the West Loop. The building where Oprah Winfrey told us "everybody gets a car" is moving out for good.
Harpo studios helped revitalize the area into one of the hottest neighborhoods in town.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports she's definitely leaving an entirely different neighborhood than the one she found here 26 years ago.
Most of the residents there probably don't remember, but a few business owners who do are grateful and sad.
Oprah's final show in 2011 spelled the beginning of the end for the sprawling Harpo Studios. Now four years later, she came to Harpo to deliver the news to the 200 employees impacted, calling Harpo, "not just my home but also my life for nearly 30 years. I've spent more time there than anywhere else. I'm so proud of what we created."
Joel Nicholson, the owner of nearby Wishbone Restaurant, says she can also be proud of the transformation of the neighborhood, now filled with condos and restaurants.
"She was a real engine not only for West Loop but I think Chicago in general," said
He remembers the line of Oprah guests marching to his restaurant after the show, including celebrities and tourists.
"People would be going by studio, tourists, just to take pictures outside of the studio," Nicholson said.
The Oprah Winfrey Network says it's "begun the process of transitioning Harpo Studios productions in Chicago to OWN," in West Hollywood, a transition that will be complete by December.
"We really enjoyed having people come in saying this is Oprahs' restaurant, so I miss that," Nicholson said. "She had long run, it was great staff. I wonder what's gonna happen with the building."
Oprah actually sold the building to real estate developer Sterling Bay last year and is leasing it now through next April.
CBS 2 reached out to Sterling Bay, but did not hear back.