Jack's Restaurant To Close After 50 Years

A popular Skokie diner where patrons would come in and spend their late night hours sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes will close at the end of August after 50 years in the community.

Jack’s Restaurant, a mom-and-pop hangout that was open 24 hours a day for the majority of its half-century run, is still popular with customers, but the owner’s age and the influx of chain restaurants in the area like the Dunkin’ Donuts across the street have led to the decision to close - according to a Skokie Review article.

“Big chains are killing the smaller diners like us,” said owner Jack Koretos, 87, told the Review. “Jack’s has become a way of life for me, but that’s just the way the world is today.”

Read More: The Story Behind Skokie’s Iconic Jack’s Restaurant

Located at 5201 West Touhy Avenue since 1965, when Koretos and Jerry Rubin - his late business partner - opened the place, Jack’s is now run by Koretos and his son, George.

“I’m burnt out, and dad is 87—he’s been through a lot,” George said. “It was the right time.”

The business never recovered from a smoking ban in public places enacted by the village of Skokie in 2003, Jack said. Soon after, the popular diner reduced its hours, closing at 3 p.m. daily.

“Back then, a big concentration of the high school and college kids smoked, so we started losing money when the law changed,” Jack said. “[The village] was trying to do the right thing, but it hurt us.”

Even so, Jack’s has remained one of the few places with a Cheers like atmosphere.

“There’s comfort in a place like this that goes beyond the food,” Chicago resident Brian Adams told the Review. “It’s like putting on an old sweater—it’s a rare neighborhood hangout in a place that’s become increasingly urban.”

Customer Jim Bairstow, also of Chicago, was just as reminiscent.

“When you got your driver’s license you’d come in here to smoke and you could get on the phone and call whoever you wanted,” he said. “This place is a true cornucopia of real Americana—but it’s dying off and being taken over by the big chains.”

more via the Skokie Review