Geneva Restaurant Closes After 78 Years
GENEVA, Ill. (WBBM) -- The doors are closed for good at a landmark restaurant in the Fox River valley.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports, the Mill Race Inn in Geneva served its last meal Sunday night.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports
Podcast
Charlie Roumeliotis, the owner of the Mill Race Inn at 4 E. State St. in Geneva, said he had to close in part because of the toll the economy took on dining out.
Ironically, the restaurant opened in 1933 during the Great Depression, but couldn't survive the Great Recession.
Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns tells the Daily Herald that losing an institution such as the Mill Race Inn is "gut-wrenching," but says it's a sign of an evolving community.
He says the western suburb looks forward to redeveloping the site.
In past recessions, restaurants have led the recovery, but not this time.
Technomic, a restaurant consulting firm, says even with the economy improving, consumers are only going out to eat on special occasions.
Visits to restaurants are projected to grow less than 1 percent a year, compared to as much as 7 percent before the economy tanked.
