Joliet Restaurant Announces Permanent Closure

JOLIET, IL ? Just days after announcing Joliet's 1st Stop Cafe would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for personal reasons, restaurant owner Patrick Fanning informed his Facebook restaurant followers that his dine-in restaurant along South Chicago Street will not be coming back.

"I am sad to say I will not be reopening, thank you all for your support," Fanning shared on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

Joliet Patch produced a handful of articles on Joliet's 1st Stop Cafe since Fanning opened on April 1, 2021, at 318 South Chicago Street.

During the 2021 article,

Fanning told Joliet Patch that he wants to see his newly opened Joliet's 1st Stop Cafe become a destination stop for people traveling the country along historic Route 66.

He opened about a block up the street from the Milano Bakery. His restaurant is right behind the Ajax Cleaners & Laundry. Joliet's 1st Stop has a large parking lot for customers right off Third Avenue and South Chicago Street.

Fanning said that he has 40 years experience in the restaurant industry after growing up in Elwood. He said he's worked at Red Lobster, the former Earl's Cafe on Jefferson Street, Merichka's and most recently at Loco's Mexican Restaurant on Essington Road.

"I'm the owner and the cook," he said. "This has been a dream of mine all my life."

During a May 2022 interview, Fanning told Patch that Joliet's 1st Stop Cafe originally opened Monday through Friday, but during the past seven months, Fanning has kept Joliet's 1st Stop open on Saturdays as well.

He said he can have a Monday of $16 in sales and a Monday with $300 in sales.

"You just don't know. You never know here," he told Joliet Patch. "People love the breakfast sandwiches. It's on Milano Bread and everybody loves Milano's."

Fanning said he's very proud that Joliet's 1st Stop has attracted a diverse regular crowd.

"It's young and old and all races," he said.

Fanning was known for out of the box thinking, and he offers different daily specials such as the $6 breakfast sandwiches or the $5.99 cheeseburger and fries.