Northbrook Loses 2 Downtown Restaurants In 2 Months

NORTHBROOK, IL — Two restaurants owned by Northbrook residents across the street from one another in the 1300 block of Shermer Road have announced their closure within a month of one another. Both downtown Northbrook enterprises had been open for about 18 months.

On Oct. 28, Lucky Fish on Shermer, the second location of fusion concept featuring a East Coast and New Orleans-style seafood with a Mexican flair, announced it was shuttering permanently. The restaurant is owned by Northbrook residents Steve and Shana Geffen, and a Lucky Fish location in Highwood remains open as part of their restaurant group.

"We try to be consistent across the board, we just could never get enough business there. I don't know what we would have done differently. I don't know if we could have done anything differently," Steve Geffen said. "The support wasn't there."

Then, on Nov. 14, the fast-casual healthy lifestyle concept Jar Bar, which served "clean ingredients" in recyclable packaging, announced it would be closing permanently Nov. 30.

Jar Bar was founded by another Northbrook couple, former television producer Karen Firsel and her husband, commercial real estate developer Adam Firsel. It also opened in May 2017.

"Small business can only thrive on continued daily support from its community. Given we aren't part of a national chain, and we don't have multiple stores, it is us against the bigger brands," they said in a social media post.

"Small business is the thread that holds a town together. We add unique color and flavor. We add the creative spirit. That is the difference between us and national brands. My only hope is that given the closings of 5 small businesses in our downtown area over the last 6 months more people will be energized to support the businesses that are left standing."

The statement said the 1350 Shermer Road location could never recover from a steep decline in customers amid two years of construction.

The cake jar program, which has exciting opportunities for growth, will continue after the closure of the physical location, according to the post.

"The irony isn’t lost on me…despite the brand focusing on clean eating," it said. "The end of the road is all about the cake."

Lucky Fish, the eighth location of the Once Upon restaurant group, opened last May after a long remodeling of the historic structure at 1349 Shermer Road. The building was originally a blacksmith shop and the home of Culligan Water (now called Driessen Culligan) and later a Carquest Auto Parts Shop, according to an announcement of its opening. Featuring a 2,700-square-foot patio, Lucky Fish aimed to "appeal to young, hip adults that want an urban dining experience in a convenient suburban location that caters to their modern lifestyle," it said.