Joliet Restaurant Owner Must Pay $110K For Unpaid Rent: Judge

JOLIET, IL — Joliet businessman Louis Polimenakos, who owned and operated Louis' Family Restaurant at 1001 West Jefferson Street for 29 years, is now obligated to pay nearly $110,000 in back rent and plaintiff's attorneys fees as a result of last week's default judgment entered against him by veteran Will County Judge John Anderson.

Despite being served with notices to appear at the Will County Courthouse on multiple dates over the past year, Polimenakos skipped out on several of his court hearings for the lawsuit.

According to court records, a judgment was entered against the owner of the now-closed Louis' Family Restaurant indicating he must pay the plaintiff $106,259 for his unpaid rent, plus $3,655 in plaintiff's attorneys fees and costs, bringing the total owed by Polimenakos to $109,914, Joliet Patch found.

Polimenakos's unpaid rent from June 1, 2021, through Nov. 30, 2021, totals $51,593 and "from December 1, 2021, through Oct. 31, 2022, there was an additional rent due and unpaid rent under the lease totaling $55,259," court records indicate.

According to the original contract terms, the lease for Louis' Family Restaurant had an expiration date of Aug. 31, 2024.

"Landlord has taken all reasonable steps to release the leasehold through its leasing division, the leasehold being advertised on all major commercial property lease databases in the Joliet and Chicagoland area," Hinkle stated in court records.

"The amount due landlord for unpaid rent after all just due credits and setoffs from June 21, 2021, through Oct. 31, 2022 totals $106,852," Hinkle noted.

Judge Anderson also ordered Polimenakos to pay another $3,655 in attorneys fees and costs to the plaintiff's lawyer, David Stieper, who brought the lawsuit forward back in January.

The Stieper Law Offices bills at an hourly rate of $275 per hour.

On Dec. 7, 2021, the two sons of Polimenakos opened the Louie's Waffle House at the former Bob Evans restaurant property at the Larkin Avenue exit for Interstate 80, although the mailing address is 1776 McDonough St. At that time, Joliet Patch reported that the 73-year-old owner of Louis' Family Restaurant had officially retired and closed his restaurant at 1001 West Jefferson St. on Nov. 28, 2021, after nearly 30 years of business in Joliet.