Maple Tree Inn Owners Announce Easter Sunday Schedule

HOMEWOOD, IL – APRIL 8 -- Maple Tree Inn owners announced today the famed restaurant will offer pre-order, family meals for carry-out Easter Sunday, April 12th at 18849 Dixie Highway, Homewood, Illinois; 708-388-3461.

Easter’s pre-order family meals for carryout must be placed by 7:30 pm on Friday, April 10th. Staff cannot take orders after Friday evening for Sunday’s carryout, which will run from noon until 2 p.m.

With such Easter dinner staples as Leg of Lamb, Prime Rib and Beef Brisket featured on a special menu with the Cajun preparation and presentation, the Maple Tree Inn staff will roll around the clock to meet need.

At the forefront of the owners’ minds this week has been the many families who tied their reunion traditions to the Maple Tree Inn.

When fire struck the famed restaurant in August of 2018, many of the most heartfelt notes lamented the end of long-rooted traditions linked to holidays and Holy Days, as well as birthdays and anniversaries.

“With Easter, hope springs eternal for families gathering after the winter months,” said owner Erich Wennberg.

“In these extraordinary times, families will still gather in the comfort and safety of their homes and if they want to call on us to contribute, we are honored. The entire staff feels the same way. Each day of this pandemic is another reminder of how precious life is.”

Last month, the Maple Tree Inn owners followed up their own "carryout" announcement with a #GIFTTHEGLOVES campaign to provide front-line response teams with Nitrile gloves for a small donation.

The launch was well received and garnered hundreds of donations of $6 to send a box of 100 gloves to first responders battling COVID-19. Deliveries of the donated boxes to the Homewood Fire Department and Franciscan Health Olympia Fields helped to back up resources.

Since the carryout program began in March, customers have arrived in waves - physically separated - to get their pickup order dinners strategically displayed with generous spacing along the bar. Just as briskly they departed clutching the loops of the shopping bags.

The Maple Tree Inn owners and staff have been working with local leaders, health authorities and the Illinois Restaurant Association to prepare “a rigid procedure for call-in and pick-up service” designed to keep customers from standing in line, while remaining six feet apart and inside the restaurant’s entrance for only minutes at a time. There is no delivery service at this time.

"First and foremost, we want to protect the health of our customers and our own staff," Wennberg said. "This a fluid situation and we are doing everything we’re told by the experts while creating opportunities to get meals to residents in our community.”

“We applaud the Maple Tree Inn’s ingenuity and straightforward plan in response to the pandemic impacting the entire state and our community,” said Mayor Rich Hofeld. “People should remember we are all in this together.”

The Maple Tree Inn operates the normal carry out service from 3:30 to 7:30 from Wednesday through Sunday.

PLEASE NOTE:

EASTER SUNDAY DINNERS MUST BE ORDERED FRIDAY NIGHT BY 7:30 P.M.;

SUNDAY CARRY OUT PICK UP IS NOON UNTIL 2 P.M.

http://www.mapletreeinnrestaurant.com.

Orders can be placed during regular business hours by phone; receptionists will provide an accurate time frame for pickup. On arrival, customers will be directed toward the entrance.

Stanchions with signage will be in place to create a queue up and designate the proper 6 ft. distance between customers. Dining-in restrictions prevent anyone from waiting inside the restaurant for their food.

Maple Tree Inn: Opened in 1975, the Maple Tree Inn committed exclusively to Cajun/Creole cuisine in the early 1980s and established a passionate, loyal following. The Maple Tree Inn was named to the Top 50 Best Southern Restaurants in America by OpenTable in 2018.

The Maple Tree Inn patrons who have dining-in reservations during April are encouraged to reschedule those reservations through: www.opentable.com/r/maple-tree-inn-homewood or http://www.mapletreeinnrestaurant.com.