Al's Steakhouse Not Happy With Pritzker's New Restrictions

JOLIET, IL — The owners of Al's Steakhouse, a Joliet restaurant landmark since 1959, say they are extremely frustrated with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's decision to halt indoor dining at restaurants and bars across Will and Kankakee Counties given that new coronavirus cases have spiked sharply in recent weeks.

The governor made the somber announcement Monday. The latest regulations impacting the Joliet area bars and restaurants take effect Wednesday. There's a chance, but no guarantee, that the harsh measures impacting the Joliet and Kankakee area food and beverage industry may be lifted in a couple of weeks, according to Pritzker.

Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Joliet Patch interviewed Al's Steakhouse owners George and Amanda Daskalakis as their West Jefferson Street restaurant was opening for its daily dinner crowd. About a dozen senior citizens were waiting in the lobby to be seated.

All of these guests were wearing face masks and some of them remarked to each other that they had not visited a sit-down restaurant in many months because of concerns with the coronavirus. One of the dinner groups came to Al's for a wedding anniversary celebration.

A frustrated George Daskalakis told Joliet Patch that he did not believe he could get a large outdoor tent in time for Wednesday's dinner crowd.

"I doubt it is going to be for tomorrow," he said Tuesday.

He was confident Al's Steakhouse would return to offering outdoor dining under a large tent in a couple days, perhaps.

The governor's regulations could not have come at a worse time, according to the owner of Al's. This coming Sunday, Aug. 30, Al's already had booked three separate events for its indoor banquet rooms. One of the events was a funeral luncheon.

Given the new restrictions for Will and Kankakee County restaurants and bars, Al's Steakhouse won't be able to utilize any of its banquet rooms for those guests who already made plans several days in advance, the owners said.

Starting Wednesday, Al's will focus on takeout orders and curbside pickups, just no indoor dining, which is the heart of its business.

The owners were particularly disturbed to learn that they must also close their bar because Will County's coronavirus cases have spiked this summer.

They pointed out that theirs is a cocktail bar and typically the only people in their bar are customers waiting to order their food or stopping by for a drink after eating their meal.

Where is the fairness in Governor Pritzker's mandates impacting bars and sit-down restaurants, the owners of Al's Steakhouse asked?

Why are all bars and restaurants in Will and Kankakee being treated exactly the same?

The owners of Al's pointed out that they have taken multiple safeguards, rearranging their indoor seating and how they conduct business at their sit-down restaurant since the pandemic hit in March.

They have had zero coronavirus cases at their dine-in restaurant, they said proudly.

"I feel we've had some time to adapt and adjust," Amanda Daskalkis told Patch Tuesday afternoon. "You shouldn't just label everyone into one large group."

Since the pandemic, Al's owners say they have made sure the dining room and banquet rooms are nowhere near their restaurant's maximum capacity of 300 guests.

They say following social distance guidelines, always wearing masks and frequently using hand-sanitizing products are all best practices being followed at their legendary Joliet restaurant.

"The space is there to social distance, and we do," Amanda said. "Our bar is not a party bar."

Why should they suffer another financial hardship over these couple weeks because other parts of the Joliet and Kankakee are seeing rising levels of coronavirus cases, the husband and wife owners asked. They also said the number of Will County deaths from the coronavirus have dropped substantially compared to Will County's death figures from the spring.

While Joliet Patch was interviewing George and Amanda Daskalakis at a booth near their bar, one older couple walked by and told them that these latest restrictions imposed by Gov. Pritzker were baloney. The couple told the restaurant owners that they chose to dine out at Al's Steakhouse on Tuesday night to make sure that Al's remains prosperous.

"We have some very loyal customers who have been very supportive since March," George Daskalakis remarked.

In the alternative, the owners of Al's said that Gov. Pritzker should have imposed restrictions on indoor capacity for restaurants and bars in Will and Kankakee Counties, rather than just issue a blanket proclamation ordering all indoor dining off-limits as of Wednesday, Aug. 26.

"Limit capacity instead of completely saying, 'No,'" George Daskalakis told Joliet Patch.

He urged customers to watch the restaurant marquee on West Jefferson Street, visit his website or check out their Facebook page for upcoming news about when Al's will bring back the tent, now that its indoor restaurant and bar are off-limits to guests, again.

During the pandemic, Al's is staying open 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To check out the menu or keep up on the latest information, visit the Al's Steakhouse website here.