Felony Franks In Oak Park Closes Due To Financial Struggles

OAK PARK, IL — There wasn't even time to say goodbye to Felony Franks or to stop in for one last Misdemeanor Wiener. The beloved Oak Park hot dog joint that made a name for itself by giving jobs to former felons, closed indefinitely Monday. The sad news was delivered in a Facebook post by owner and village trustee Deno Andrews. The "tough note to write" expressed thanks to the community and placed the bulk of the blame on financial trouble with the business.

Andrews also heaped a lot of blame on himself throughout the post, writing that he didn't throw a party or make a big announcement about Felony Franks closing because he "didn't want to celebrate a failure." For Andrews, part of that failure was trying to split his time between running Felony Franks and working as a trustee for the village of Oak Park after he was elected in April.

He praised the staff of Felony Franks for picking up the slack during this time, but wrote, "I am angry and ashamed that I have failed my own hard working staff, my family, my village, and all the supporters of Felony Franks."

According to Andrews's Facebook post, increased property taxes and costs of goods led to him raising prices at Felony Franks and ultimately decreasing hours for staff. That, in turn, he wrote, led to a decline in sales. "I raised the prices to compensate for these increases, and in doing so our business went down substantially, and fast. We were faced with having to lower our standards in order to stay afloat."

Since it opened in 2014, Felony Franks has employed countless felons who would have a difficult time getting a job elsewhere. In that time, Andrews noted in his post, that the recidivism rate for his employees has fallen to zero percent.

He thanked Oak Park residents for supporting Felony Franks and told customers that their support of the business "changed lives," something for which he would be "forever grateful."

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