It was five years ago this summer when Lake County’s restaurants should have been having a hot time. That is, until COVID-19 interrupted their business.
Their customers began learning to “distance dine” under state social-distancing rules issued in May of 2020. Those allowed at-risk resumption of operations with only outdoor seating and tables six feet away from each other.
Many Illinois restaurants were going out of business, caught in the lockdown ordered by Gov. JB Pritzker in March as the coronavirus pandemic raged. The lives of just under 1,500 Lake County residents were lost to the virulent virus in 2020.
The outdoor dining option was a boon for the state’s hospitality industry that had been almost completely shut down. Many restaurants rushed to have huge tents installed on their properties to serve diners under the state guidelines.
Among them was The Shanty complex in Wadsworth, at Route 41 and Wadsworth Road. Just months before, Dimitri Kallianis of the destination eatery between Chicago and Milwaukee was selling his stocks of meats, liquor and wine to keep the restaurant rolling.
Fifteen years prior, the Kallianis family took over the fabled location and pumped in millions of dollars in investment to expand their culinary footprint. This year, they mark 20 years at the spot which battled through the epidemic, emerging stronger.
Indeed, the “Shantytowne” complex now includes the Wadsworth Inn, south of the parking lot which serves The Shanty site and an expanded Captain Porky’s. The Wadsworth Inn is the latest iteration at the location which over the years also was named The Buggy Whip, Doug’s on 41 and Savannah House.
“We’re one big restaurant family,” he said. “There’s four completely different concepts and we all work together in synergy.” The family also owns The Duck Inn in downtown Wadsworth, where the notable bar is now teamed with The Quonset, the well-known Waukegan pizzeria at Grand Avenue and McAree Road, for an expanded food menu.
Around the time COVID-19 caused us to mask up was the last time I had spoken at length with Kallianis, 42, whose family members continued to battle the effects of the pandemic on the hospitality industry. That was until the governor said in 2023 that most of us survived COVID-19 and dining restrictions were completely relaxed.
By mid-year 2020, hospitality groups were predicting that 60% of pandemic-closed restaurants would not open again. Many didn’t. More than 110,000 restaurants in the nation shut their doors in 2020, either temporarily or permanently, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Some Lake County restaurants failed to make the cut, as customers and sales dropped dramatically. The fallout continues to this day across Chicagoland.
The National Restaurant Association reports that even without an epidemic, there is a 30% failure rate across the U.S. restaurant industry. Other data suggests that might be a high figure, with other research showing that since the pandemic, only 17% have failed in the first year; 51.4% of restaurants are still operating after five years.
Launching and growing a successful independent and local restaurant is expensive and takes a lot of hard work. Which is something Kallianis grew up with, starting at the original Captain Porky’s near Sheridan and Wadsworth roads by the Beach Park/Zion border. He still sweeps The Shanty parking lot most mornings.
Of course, his isn’t the only family-owned restaurant group to come out of the pandemic seemingly stronger. Khayat Enterprises, known for its Primo and Fatman’s locations centered in Gurnee, among others, has remade the old Gurnee Holiday Inn at Grand Avenue west of the Tri-State Tollway into Ten Hotel, a combination of convention center, hotel, restaurant and luxury apartments. The firm is soon expected to open Pop’s Uptown Supper Club on Route 45 in rural Antioch, just south of the Wisconsin border.
After surviving the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic and climbing inflation during the administration of President Joe Biden, Kallianis now cites tariffs slapped on products many restaurateurs depend on coming from our North American trading partners as another obstacle for the industry. Government data released last week showed a 38% jump in the wholesale price of vegetables in July.
Despite grappling with such trials, The Shanty brand continues to grow. That includes taking the “Shantytowne experience on the road,” through a traveling smoker and the “Tipsy Pony,” a portable bar and entertainment setting fabricated in Texas. It “brings the Wadsworth vibe” to back yards or corporate events, he said.
“We’re excited about this,” he added. There are nearly a dozen events scheduled for the wandering catering wagons this month, he noted. Those include fish boils, something usually associated with Wisconsin’s Door County.
At the same time, Kallianis remains a frequent video visitor on a number of media platforms, including five national cooking appearances on programs still running in syndication. Yet, he remains focused on family and the county’s restaurant scene.
“Still, at the end of the day, we’re a neighborhood place,” he said of his “Shantytowne” concept. Since 2005, it has been the core of a culinary village in Wadsworth.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com
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