Jack's Restaurant, A Skokie Institution, To Close After 50 Years
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A restaurant that's been a fixture in Skokie for 50 years is getting ready to close its doors.
On July 1st, Jack's Restaurant on Touhy Avenue, just west of the Edens Expressway, marked its 50th anniversary.
Now, owner Jack Koretas says he's reluctantly calling it quits.
"I just hate to think of retiring," he said.
Koretas said he's loved running his namesake diner, but at age 87, he's ready to retire.
"I'm ready to retire. I've been here 50 years," he said.
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He and his son, who is his business partner, have been negotiating a sale of the property to a developer.
Koretas said regular customers are distraught.
"'Where are we going to go?' You know, 'I come in every day.' I mean, we have the same customers, and we've had them for so long. The people have just been wonderful. I'm going to miss them as much as they miss the store, for sure," he said. "Our customers are so loyal. It's almost like a country club here. Everybody knows everybody."
Until the Great Recession, the diner operated 24/7, but in the last few years has been open only for breakfast and lunch, as the nighttime crowd dwindled.
Koretas expects the restaurant's last day will be sometime in September.
