This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Necessary'. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Functional'. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Analytics'. This cookie is placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to prevent spam and to store the addresses (urls) visited on the website. This cookie is placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to prevent spam and to store the referrer page address which led the user to the website. Used in order to detect spam and improve the website's security.ĬleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.įunctional cookie placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to store referring IDs and prevent unauthorized spam from being sent from the website. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Luckily, we know there will always be someplace new to fill it.Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Even if that still leaves something of an empty feeling in the pit of our stomach. Invariably, as we have to say with so many of the other changes that life brings, we will always have the memories. Sometimes just for different.įor all the fanfare that had cars wrapped around the building for the opening of Andy’s Custard last month, there’s the melancholy sense of loss that goes with remembering the many breakfasts and lunches with friends and family through the years at Grandma Sally’s.

Times change, not always for better or worse. I’d love to hear more about them, where they were, and why they went away.įor the bright day that dawns with the opening of every new Miller’s Ale House, the sun similarly sets on the Luigi’s House that preceded it. The Landmark (“We went there before our high school dances,” one commenter fondly remembered, along with a heart emoji), Rascal’s, The Red Door Inn and a place called Dolly’s were just a few of the establishments I never knew, but many longtime Napervillians did and clearly still miss. In 2001, my wife and I held our rehearsal dinner at Leonardo’s, now home to The Craftsman by Two Brothers, and a couple of other restaurant/bars in between the two.Ī comparative newcomer to Naperville - I’ve lived here “only” since 1999 - some of the dearly departed eateries recalled clearly on the post were before I was around and/or places I did not have the privilege of dining at before they caved to the culinary sands of time. And, sadly, perhaps just as likely that restaurant is now no more. Odds are if you think back to any of the momentous times of your life that occurred here in Naperville, there’s probably some role associated with it played by the restaurant you ate at, took carryout from or had catered as part of the event. Think about all the grainy, dog-eared photos (and now crisp, sharply-focused Facebook post images) you have that were taken in places such as these. Family dinners, date nights, birthday parties and more. Whether they’re here for just a short time, or written into Naperville lore by serving diners for decades, restaurants like these come to be a big part of our lives in the time they’re here. Some of those mentioned were relative passers-through, like the short-lived Zapatista on Freedom Drive, La Hacienda on 75th and the recently closed Tom & Eddie’s hamburger place on Naper Boulevard, in part of the building that used to house a TGI Friday’s. As we all know, it’s a pretty tough business, feeding all of us and keeping us coming back for more over the long haul. A restaurant once proudly stood there, only to fall victim to fire or changing food tastes or market saturation or any number of other reasons why restaurants might not last forever. The whole thing was very reminiscent of another recent food experience, when we took our kids to the new Andy’s Custard on Ogden Avenue, built on the site of where the former Grandma Sally’s operated until it burned in the summer of 2014.Īlong Ogden, up and down Route 59 and 75th Street, and throughout downtown, it seems every corner in Naperville has a similar story to tell. Luigi’s was then part of the Portillo’s Restaurant Group, but it has since closed and its building was demolished last year to make way for a new tenant, which ended up being Miller’s.

While seated at the just-opened Miller’s Ale House, she and I recalled the last time we’d had dinner at the same spot, when it had been Luigi’s House Italian restaurant. Dinner with my wife last weekend at the new Miller’s Ale House on Route 59 reminded me of our first trip to the new Andy’s Custard on Ogden Avenue a few weeks earlier.

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