Why did Chicago Style Grill leave Joliet? The owners blame the owner

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JOLIET, IL Yesenia and Juan Sanchez, owners of Chicago Street Grill, told Joliet Patch they wanted their loyal long-time customers to know their recent decision to leave Joliet was not related to a downturn in business. This was not the case at all, they insisted.

But after six years of running the Chicago Style Grill restaurant at 221 Ruby Street, the restaurant’s owners said they had a fight with their owners in early June and decided enough was enough. It was time to move out of 221 Ruby St., even if it meant breaking their three-year lease and losing their $ 5,000 security deposit.

The husband and wife closed their Ruby Street restaurant on Saturday, June 5. The owners of Chicago Style Grill told Joliet Patch that they have refused to pay their monthly rent since their January payment because their owners refused to do major repairs to the building after several years of the complaints fell into place. deaf ear.

The building at 221 Ruby St had many holes in the roof causing a lot of rain and snow in their kitchen, restaurant hallway and women’s restroom.

Chicago Style Grill had two locations, one on Ruby Street in Joliet and one in Crest Hill on Renwick Road. Now only the one in Renwick Road remains open, John Ferak / Patch

This week, restaurateurs showed Joliet Patch several photos and videos, some dating back to 2017, showing more than half a dozen yellow buckets placed in their kitchen and bathroom at 221 Ruby Street to catch the falling rain.

Some of their photos taken earlier this year showed a giant hole in the roof of the women’s bathroom where sunlight can be seen from outside.

“We decided we couldn’t operate like that,” Yesenia Sanchez told Joliet Patch this week in an interview at the second location of her Chicago Style Grill, the one they opened in January 2020 in Crest Hill in Renwick Road Plaza.

“I can’t handle leaks like the ones we had,” she said. “It was just too much. We were spending more time cleaning than preparing for my surgery.

“We didn’t want to close Joliet, it was our baby. We were emotionally attached to this building. We painted the walls and installed a new counter.”

Although the owners of Chicago Style Grill have said they have complained to their owners and city building inspectors, their property owners, Ed Kopinski and several of his brothers, have chosen not to repair the roof which was constantly fleeing.

Chicago Style Grill had two locations, one on Ruby Street in Joliet and one in Crest Hill on Renwick Road. Now only the one in Renwick Road remains open, John Ferak / Patch

Sanchez said officials in the city of Joliet had suggested she and her husband should sue their owners, but the Sanchezs said they did not want to sue.

“We don’t want to sue people, we just want to be in business,” Yesenia Sanchez said.

Documents at Joliet Town Hall listed Ed Kopinski, Albert Kopinski, and Joseph Kopinski as owners of 221 Ruby Street. The Kopinskis operate the Symbolic Kustomz bespoke wheel and rim store at 750 North Broadway Street.

The Joliet Patch editor-in-chief visited Symbolic Kustomz on Wednesday and left his business card with Ed Kopinski, but he did not call back for comment. When Joliet Patch explained to a woman at the Symbolic Kustomz counter the purpose of the upcoming story, she began to raise her voice, complaining about how the owners of Chicago Style Grill had stopped paying their rent.

Last week, city officials from the construction and inspections department told Joliet Patch that the owners of 221 Ruby Street informed the city in May of their intention to “re-roof” the property.

At Crest Hill, Sanchez said she really hated leaving Joliet, proudly pointing out how they had made it through the coronavirus pandemic and kept profitable.

The Chicago Style Grill had many loyal customers from the nearby Cunningham neighborhood, and it also drew several employees from the Will County Courthouse for their daily specials, according to the owner.

The Chicago Style Grill is best known for its inexpensive daily specials for lunch. While hot dogs and burgers are hugely popular, Sanchez said they’re also known for their salads, paninis, and gyros.

“We sell a lot of hot dogs and our beef is homemade,” she added.

Chicago Style Grill had two locations, one on Ruby Street in Joliet and one in Crest Hill on Renwick Road. Now only the one in Renwick Road remains open, John Ferak / Patch

Several police officers from Joliet also ate there regularly, noted the owner of the Chicago Style Grill. “Joliet PD are very big supporters,” said Yesenia Sanchez.

She said Joliet city officials urged her and her husband to consider bringing the Chicago Style Grill back to Joliet, in a different location.

She said she was open to the idea of ​​maybe moving to downtown Joliet.

“I think if we could move we would target the Joliet work community,” she said.

She stressed that she and her husband remain committed to keeping their Crest Hill restaurant, so a return to Joliet would mean opening a second restaurant, once again.

Chicago Style Grill had two locations, one on Ruby Street in Joliet and one in Crest Hill on Renwick Road. Now only the one in Renwick Road remains open, John Ferak / Patch

Since the opening of the Crest Hill location in 2020, Chicago Style Grill has received an excellent reception on Renwick Road, especially from the large retirement communities of Crest Hill, said Yesenia Sanchez. She’s in the same mall as Burger Rebellion.

And because it is part of a large shopping center, any issues or concerns they have with their building are immediately addressed with their property management company, she said.

The Chicago Style Grill on Renwick Road is open 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and stays open until midnight Friday and Saturday.

“We had a good response,” she said.

On the flip side, dealing with Ed Kopinski and his family over the past few years at 221 Ruby Street in Joliet was another story, she said.

She said the Kopinskis didn’t seem to mind that she and her husband were trying to run a daily restaurant, suitable for walk-in traffic, when the Chicago Style Grill building was neglected and in need of repair.

“They are just there to collect the rent check,” Yesenia Sanchez said. “Everyone is self-employed in this family… they just weren’t good owners.”

RELATED COVER: February 2019 Joliet Patch Food Review of Chicago Style Grill

Chicago Style Grill had two locations, one on Ruby in Joliet and one at Crest Hill on Renwick. Now only the one on Renwick Road remains. John Ferak / Patch

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