STACKED Reopens In Crestwood As Owner Faces Post-Pandemic Future

CRESTWOOD, IL — Like many restaurateurs, Tom Demacopoulos was blindsided when Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered Illinois restaurants and bars to close in March at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Not wishing to jeopardize the health of his loyal employees and customers, Demacopoulos closed his popular STACKED restaurants in Oak Lawn and Crestwood. [No one is prepared or expecting this]

Focusing on the expansion of the Oak Lawn STACKED Restaurant, Demacopoulos reopened his Crestwood location at Cicero Avenue and 143rd Street on Mother’s Day for carryout, curbside and DoorDash delivery.

“We’re not set up for strictly to go,” Demacopoulos said. “We’re a sit-down, dine-in restaurant with the ability to take some phone orders. We have four phones, and they didn’t stop ringing all day. People weren’t able to get through to place an order, and we got bashed on social media.”

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With one out of four restaurants not expected to return when restaurants and bars are allowed to reopen under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase plan to restart the economy, Demacopoulos is looking to a post-pandemic future.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people, our business won’t be what people are used to for a while,” he said. “It could take six months to a year.”

The Illinois Restaurant Association is lobbying for including restaurants and bars in Phase 3 of Illinois reopen plan when state lawmakers return to Springfield this week. Some offices, barber shops and hair styling salons are expected to reopen with strict social distancing guidelines next month when the current executive order expires May 30.

Sam Toia, president of the IRA, would like to see two tweaks made to the governor’s reopen plan that would allow restaurants to reopen at 25-percent capacity with staff required to wear facial coverings. Also, change the waiting period from 28 days to 14 days to allow movement between the phases, a practice currently in play in New York, WBEZ reported. Otherwise, the state’s restaurants and bars may not be able to reopen until late June or early July.

“Twenty-five or 50-percent indoor dining, it’s going to be challenging,” Demacopoulos said. “We’re just going to try our best just like everyone else and adapt to our new environment.”

Such low capacity has forced Demacopoulos to lower his expectations for the time being in Oak Lawn, where he’s spending thousands of dollars to expand the original STACKED into an adjacent commercial space.

While the state works to flatten the COVID-19 curve, Demacopoulos is trying to stay ahead of it. The Crestwood Village Board last week approved his plan to convert part of his parking lot into outdoor seating, a move other restaurants are considering.

He’s adding ten picnic tables for outdoor seating, spaced six feet apart, in his parking lot, that seat six people. Plexiglas shields will go up around the cash registers to protect employees and customers, as well as the customary PPE, including gloves, face masks and sanitizers. He’s also ordered temperature readers that shoot a laser on people’s foreheads to have for his employees.

Demacopoulos is also upgrading STACKED’s online ordering system, which he hopes to roll out by Memorial Day weekend. Diners can order and pay online -- or call the restaurant -- before coming to pick up their food. They can also order for delivery through DoorDash.

“We’re trying our best,” he added.

One thing Demacopoulos has noticed during the past week: nobody who’s been coming to STACKED for the past several years wants to leave after they’ve ordered their food.

“People are eating in the cars in our parking lot,” Demacopoulos said. “I’m just thankful that we can reopen."

STACKED, 14306 S. Cicero Ave., Crestwood, will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 708-406-8888 to order directly. The original STACKED in Oak Lawn at ADDRESS is under construction.

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