Restaurants & Bars
La Grange's Milkstop: Restaurants 'Unfairly Targeted'
Patch checked in again with La Grange eatery, eight months after the first interview.
LA GRANGE, IL — Milkstop Cafe in La Grange is like many restaurants — struggling amid the governor's order banning indoor dining. Unlike many others, the restaurant was quite new when the pandemic started.
In April, the restaurant, 700 W. Burlington Ave., reported that it had lost as much of 70 percent of its business after the first state-mandated shutdown. Longtime chefs Mary and Chris Spagnola opened the restaurant in October 2019.
Since the spring, they have seen business ebb and flow, Mary Spagnola said. Patch checked in with her as a follow-up to an interview in April.
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"We had a nice tent during the summer. The village allowed us to block off some parking spots for the tent. When the weather changed, we put some sides to the tent, though always left one side open," Spagnola said.
During the summer, she said, the business drew about half the business that would normally be expected.
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Now that the rules have tightened, the restaurant is only providing carryout. It has been creative with its services, offering meal packages for families and special events such as Thanksgiving. In the coming year, Milkstop plans packages for the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day.
Meanwhile, the restaurant continues to offer its full menu.
With only carryout, business is down by about two-thirds, Spagnola said.
As for indoor dining, Spagnola said she would like to see the governor's order end.
"I'm not a scientist or an epidemiologist," she said. "All I know is do you part and help where you can in terms of getting things under control. I don't think the restaurant industry is the one to blame. It would be a more suitable option to put in restrictions fairly across the line. The restaurant industry is unfairly targeted."
She said the community has been supportive of local restaurants, especially on social media with pages such as "La Grange Area Restaurant Take-out & Delivery Group."
"Social media has been strong through this entire thing," Spagnola said. "It's helped inspire a lot of customer support."
Call Milkstop at 708-937-9158. Email chefs@milkstopcafe.com. The menu is on the restaurant's website.
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