Beverly Woods Closes After 63 Years

CHICAGO, IL — An iconic neighborhood restaurant with an iconic neighborhood sign closed its doors for the final time on Sunday. Beverly Woods Restaurant, owned by the McGann family at 115th and Western for 63 years, had been the most popular place in the neighborhood for weddings, graduation parties or any event that marked a special occasion in the neighborhood. But Owner Bill McGann now says "it's time to move on" and will be putting the building up for sale.

"We've had to console some of our customers a bit," said McGann, who has been involved with the restaurant for as long as he can remember. "I think they've been more broken up about it than we have been."

McGann said the final day the restaurant was opened to the public was Sunday, with friends and such hanging around for a few more days. The decision to close stemmed from the amount of work needing to be done to update the building with renovations.

"It took myself, having been here for several years, realizing that the expenses were not worth it and I was not planning to be in the restaurant business much longer."

"We did not want to have to take out loans and put that much into it when someone younger could really do something with it."

Now 67, McGann looks back at a lifetime of memories at the neighborhood staple whose sign has been the unofficial marking for the 115th and Western intersection for longer than most alive now can remember.

"I had my first communion here... that was fun," McGann said. "I've been here pretty much ever since as a bus boy, manager and now owner. I met my wife here and got married here."

Beverly Woods' history began in 1954 when McGann's father opened the restaurant with two business partners. It underwent an extensive renovation in 1959, when the iconic "Beverly Woods Restaurant" sign was mounted just to the north of the building. Soon later, the restaurant was turned over to the McGann family.

"It was kind of like my basement at home," McGann said. "The place where all my friends hung out. We had great times. It was where we'd watch Super Bowls, World Series' and had banquets."

Brian Brophy, a native of the Beverly-Morgan Park neighborhood, remembers Beverly Woods as his first banquet experience.

"I think it was for a wedding when I was a lad," he said, adding that it was also the site of his first AA meeting "that unfortunately didn't take as I walked out 10 minutes after it started."

Now fully recovered and someone who inspires others facing the same difficulties, Brophy says Beverly Woods "faithfully served the community for decades not only with good food but also with fellowship."

Keeping with the tradition and having the new owner follow up with the restaurant-theme and retaining the Beverly Woods name "would be great," according to McGann. But "it's really what anyone wants to do."

"We've been here 63 years, and the lifespan of most restaurants is only 3-6 years," McGann said. "It's a great location, great neighborhood and has the support of a strong customer base."

The property itself will officially be listed this week for $1.299 million, realtor Chuck Groebe JD, CCIM of Coldwell-Banker said. The price includes a 45,000 square foot property with 450 feet of "prime footage" on Western Avenue.

It would be a prime spot for a mixed-use development with retail shops on the first floor and condo residences on upper floors much like the building that is home to Reilly's Daughter and other businesses on the northwest corner of 111th and Pulaski in Oak Lawn, Groebe said.

"That could really play out beautifully.... but it is up to the community, and we are willing to chase any prospect."

Groebe's office is handling the sale of the property. Those interested can contact him at 708-205-8703 or by email at cgroebe@msn.com.

The location is across the street from the Morgan Park Sports Center and has been the unofficial "end point" of the South Side Irish Parade for years.

"Parade day was always our biggest of the year," said McGann, who looks forward to other opportunities for himself and his family while the community puts Beverly Woods into its history books.

"We love the community but it's time to move on," he said. "If I was 30 (years old), I would say let's do it and keep it going. But I'm not 30."

Photo: Friends of the McGann family take in a final photograph in front of the iconic Beverly Woods sign on Monday night. Photo by Bill McGann