More Restaurants Go Dark, but One Soon to Reopen with New Owners

Two more restaurants have joined on the list of closed Plainfield dining/drinking establishments, but on the positive side of the ledger, one already has new owners.

at 24047 Lockport St. and Cebollitas Mexican Restaurant at 11914 S. Route 59 have closed in the last week.

The former, however, is to reopen in a few weeks as Hops, Scotch and Vine, an upscale restaurant that will offer a higher-end menu of steaks, pasta and seafood and will feature a full menu of craft beers, wine and scotches, according to Dianne Abbott, former owner of in Plainfield and a financial partner/consultant in the new venture. Two former McBride’s employees will be the main partners and will handle the day-to-day operations, she said.

Thomas Albert was closed by owner Tim Murphy, who said he did not have enough time to run the business in addition to caring for his ailing mother and running his real estate business.

Although the sale price was not disclosed, various online real estate sales Web sites put the asking price at $79,000.

Murphy said the business was profitable for him, but he “didn’t have the time to devote to it.”

“We put a lot of time and effort into it. It was a labor of love,” he said. “But sometimes in life things happen that you don’t always expect. … It was a short-lived business for us, but it was a good time and we enjoyed it. I think it will continue to be a good business for Plainfield.”

Building owner Bill Habiger, who had to sign a lease with the new owners, echoed Murphy’s belief that the new owners have the expertise to make it a success.

“He’s sold it to a woman who has some experience, and I think she’ll do a good job,” he said. “It was a turn-key sale. He sold it to them lock, stock and barrel.”

Not so positive is the demise of Cebollitas, which opened without much fanfare eight or nine months ago and closed without warning this week.

Christina Kitchel, the leasing agent for the strip mall in which it was located, said she didn’t know the business had shut its doors until she received a call Tuesday from someone interested in leasing the space.

“We just found out about it (Tuesday) morning,” she said. “It happens sometimes. … They had a long-term lease so we need to see what can be done.”

That the restaurant failed, Kitchel said, was not necessarily a huge surprise. She said she had dined there in the past and it was obvious they didn’t have a lot of customers.

However, if the volume of calls they’ve already received about the property is any indication, finding a new tenant may not take long, Kitchel said.

As for Finnegan’s, which closed just before Labor Day when it lost its state liquor license for failure to pay federal and state taxes, the restaurant/bar remains dark. Owner Dale Lewis said he was committed to reopening and would find the money to pay the debt, but so far that has not happened.