Oak Park’s cocktail-forward Kettlestrings Grove lounge, 105 S. Marion St. and sister restaurant Betty’s Pizza and Pasta, around the corner at 1101 South Blvd., are set to close on March 21.
Both restaurants opened four years ago, but according to co-owner Rob Guenthner life has evolved for him and the other five owners to the point that they made the decision to close two of their four restaurant ventures.
“This is a personal decision on where to spend our time at this stage in our lives,” Guenthner said. “We all have different priorities now that our kids are older. That’s the reason, more than anything else. Running a lounge and restaurants is a lot of work.”
Guenthner said the decision wasn’t an easy one.
“The hardest thing will be not seeing the people who have been coming in,” he said. “The fun thing is playing a little part in their lives. And in the life of the community.”
Kettlestrings Tavern, 800 S. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park, and Starship Restaurant, 7618 W. Madison St. in Forest Park, are owned by the same group. These remain open for business as usual. Though the future of Starship Restaurant is being weighed. A search for new ownership of that venture, which this group purchased three years ago, may be underway in the near future.
Habibi’s Chicken and Falafel, 421 N. Harlem Ave. in Oak Park, opened its doors earlier this month.
The limited-menu, counter-order concept is from the minds behind local chain Pita Pita Mediterranean Grill. The offerings, not surprisingly, feature various takes on halal chicken and falafel.
“From those two items, we’re going to make bowls and wraps,” co-owner Mustafa Hammad said. “Our kebab medallion bowl is one of our most popular items. It’s marinated chicken breast cut very thinly and grilled. And then from there, we also have a bunch of side items, hummus, garlic smash, which is like a garlic potato dip spread.”
This is a trial run for the concept.
“We were looking to open a Pita-Pita in Oak Park when we found this location,” Hammad said. “We really love the location, but the kitchen is very small. So we had the idea of starting up a simpler concept. I felt like this would be a great fit for this location, for the area, and it would allow us to grow the brand a little quicker in two avenues.”
The restaurant provides free, validated parking in the lot behind the building, which used to be the Slice Factory.
