Economy Likely Cause of Two Algonquin Restaurant Closures

Even as Algonquin has seen a number of restaurants open this summer, such as Downtown Dogs, EastSide Joey's Pizza and Bubs Subs, others have had to shut their doors.

The Creperie Normande, 1644 S. Randall Road, in the , and Mel and Mars Italian Bistro, 2761 W. Algonquin Road, join the list of Algonquin restaurants that no longer are open.

Russ Farnum, Algonquin's community development director, said he didn't know why either of the businesses closed.

"Some people just decide to close if they can't make enough money,” he said. “They were both small start-ups, and I could only speculate why they closed."

Beth Hicks, of Inland Real Estate, the company that manages Algonquin Commons, said she can confirm The Creperie Normande is no longer in business, but she couldn't offer any more information about possible future tenants for the space.

“We cannot comment on any ongoing lease discussions,” she said.

Several business owners operating in the same shopping center as Mel and Mars Italian Bistro, said they were sad to see the restaurant close its doors.

“He had some fantastic food and we were all shocked when he left,” said Audra Whitesell, one owner of , 2731 W. Algonquin Road.

Claudia Kendzior, owner of , 2755 W. Algonquin Road, said she and her staff were frequent patrons of Mel and Mars, which closed its doors with no notice in May.

“We loved his food,” she said of chef Mario Arevalo. “It was really sad to see him go.”

Kendzior said she thinks the closure may have been due to the economic climate.

“In this economy the food business is really difficult,” she said.

Neither Creperie Normande nor Mel and Mars Italian Bistro announced to the public that they were closing. Both restaurants' websites still list their operating hours. Representatives from either restaurant could not be reached for comment.