Owner Of Shuttered Restaurant Seeks Public Input On How To Reopen

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — The owner of a local sushi chain is looking to the public for input as the business weighs whether to keep two separate restaurants open in Crystal Lake and Cary.

For now, the beloved Tasty Bistro, at 394 W Virginia Street in Crystal Lake, has closed, consolidating its operations and moving over to Tasty Sushi along Northwest Highway in Cary. Over the next month, officials with sushi restaurant say they are hoping to hear from their loyal customer base on what they think the business should be doing differently to, hopefully, reopen its Crystal Lake location.

“Since 2025, sales have fluctuated, and many months barely cover expenses. We’ve struggled and feel lost at times,” officials said Wednesday in an e-mail response. “We wonder if competition is too strong, if we could improve in some areas or if there’s something we’re missing. Closing is heartbreaking for all of us, and we sincerely want to hear advice from our customers about the next steps we should take in the coming month.”

Last week, the Crystal Lake restaurant received an "outpouring of support" after announcing on Facebook it would plan to close on Tuesday, March 3.

In the following days, many customers returned multiple times in just a few days, and some traveled 30 minutes or more to show their support. They told staff with Tasty Bistro they were saddened by the thought of losing their favorite local restaurant and hope it will continue to operate.

In recent days, Tasty Bistro posted the following letter to costumers on its Facebook page: