Al's Steakhouse Gives Curbside Pickup A Go Amid Coronavirus

JOLIET, IL — The owner of Al's Steakhouse didn't sound all that surprised by Sunday afternoon's announcement from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker declaring all bars and restaurants must close to dine-in customers until March 30 in response to the new coronavirus outbreak.

Starting Tuesday, Al's will be prohibited from serving up its charbroiled steaks, chops and fresh fish to dine-in customers and banquet hall guests for at least two weeks.

Besides having a large dining area, Al's operates four banquet hall rooms at 1990 West Jefferson St. As most people around Joliet know, Al's does a ton of business as a result of funeral luncheons, anniversary parties, bridal receptions, birthday parties and a popular Sunday brunch.

But Al's also has a large customer base of senior citizens, people who are considered the most vulnerable to the new coronavirus.

On Sunday, Al's Steakhouse owner George Daskalakis told Joliet Patch he plans to make a decision within the next day on whether Al's will offer a carryout-only or curbside pickup menu option.

Sure enough, Al's has chosen to give curbside pickup a try. Customers driving along West Jefferson Street have been alerted that Al's is remaining open.

Pritzker is still allowing restaurants to stay open for drive-thru orders and curbside pickups.

Al's owner said he was not angry at the governor for making Sunday's announcement that impacts all bars and restaurants.

In Joliet, the state's third largest city, there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus. There have been none in Will County either, for that matter. But limited testing and the fact that people can have the virus without showing symptoms make judging the true scale of the outbreak difficult.

"We kind of suspected something like this with what's going on around the world," Daskalakis told Joliet Patch regarding the closing of all sit-down restaurants and bars.

In the meantime, the Al's Steakhouse owner said he wanted to personally thank all of his loyal customers and guests as he tries to get through these next two weeks without being able to seat them in his dining hall or his banquet rooms.

Aside from closing one day from time to time over the years because of significant snow storms, Al's Steakhouse has never endured such a prolonged closure of its sit-down restaurant, its owner told Patch.

Al's has been around Joliet since 1959. Normally, it's open seven days a week.

These next two weeks will test this iconic Joliet restaurant like never before. Will Al's shutter its doors and close the kitchen for at least two weeks? Will Al's get innovative and try its luck at carryout-only dining?

We should have a definitive answer by Tuesday, Daskalakis says.

Meanwhile, Illinois' number of coronavirus patients jumped by 27 since Saturday, with a total of 99 patients statewide who have tested positive.

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