Nov 19, 2008 6:41 pm US/Central
Skokie Diner Suffers From Smoking Ban, Economy
Jack's Was Open 24 Hours, Now Closes At 3 p.m.
SKOKIE, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Jack's Restaurant in Skokie used to be 24-hour, but after setbacks due to a smoking ban and the economic slump, the diner now closes at 3p.m.
CBS
For years, reporters who wanted to get the man or woman on street's thoughts on the issue of the day have included Jack's restaurant in Skokie on the list of places where diners would share what was on their mind in between sips of their coffee or bites of their breakfast.
Those who want some perspective on the ailing economy need go no further these days than Jack's front door, which is now locked after 3 p.m., seven days a week.
For decades, the familiar restaurant was a staple for 24-hour dining in the area, an informal eatery where early-risers could stop for breakfast and those on the late shift, in addition to those who had been out socializing, could have a good meal in the wee hours of the morning. But with the introduction of Skokie's smoking ban several years before the state ban was adopted, Jack's lost business. Smokers sought other overnight restaurants in which to dine, and in late 2003, Jack's closed after midnight.
And now Jack's has significantly reduced its hours even more.
"Our dinners were struggling for a good while," owner George Koretos said. "The whole economy has been hit hard, and we were losing money so we had to do something."
"In the evening now, people that used to go out and eat three times a week, they're cutting back. They go out to eat once a week now," founder Jack Koretos said.
Jack's opened in 1965 at 5201 Touhy Ave. just off the Edens Expressway. When Skokie's smoking ban went into effect, George Koretos noticed that it was only the overnight shift that resulted in a major loss in customers. He said that his usual number of overnight customers -- about 200 -- dropped to only 50 to 85 people following the ban.
"I had many sleepless nights about it, because you don't want to let people go. It's something we had to do, something drastic, but we had to do it," George Koretos said.
Some regular customers held out the hope that the overnight hours might return to Jack's after a statewide smoking ban was instituted this year. But Jack's was hit with a double-whammy this year -- first with an extended period of time when the Edens Expressway was closed down for major repair work and now with a dismal economy that has caused fewer people to dine out.
"It just seems like we've been hit with one thing after another," George Koretos said.
Forecasts call for a a major downturn in the holiday shopping season compared to recent seasons, leading Koretos to believe that there was not going to be much help coming down the road.
"This is going to be a dismal holiday shopping season so I don't see a lot of people going out shopping and looking for a place to eat this year," he said.
Koretos said a future upturn in the economy could cause him to rethink the closing of Jack's during dinner. But 24-hour dining at the restaurant is likely to never come again, he said.
So far, Koretos said, closing during the evening has helped Jack's.
"We're still here and trying to make a go of it," he said. "We have a lot of (regulars) who eat here and wish us luck all the time."
The big chains are suffering, too. This week, the parent of Olive Garden and Red Lobster announced declining sales. And earlier this year, Bennigan's went bankrupt.
But at Jack's, breakfast and lunch business is going strong, and they're hopeful of hanging on.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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