First reported 3/2/2010 4:09 p.m.
A popular Italian restaurant on Harrison Street was just sold, less than three years after opening.
Trattoria 225 will keep its name and menu in the switchover but will lose Craig Charlton, the Oak Park resident who brought the eatery to life in 2007. He closed the sale on Monday to two out-of-towners.
A 49-year-old Irish Oak Parker who's lived in the village for 10 years, Charlton has been working in the food industry since he was 15. He's a veteran not only of Martha Stewart's catering business - the Connecticut native once tended bar for her - but also of Chicago's Lettuce Entertain You chain. Trattoria 225 is the first restaurant he's worked in that was his own. Charlton, who opened Trattoria 225 in the summer of 2007, said he was captivated by the spirited row of businesses in the Oak Park Arts District and had to start up here.
Business was bumping at first, as locals flocked to check out the place known for its rustic vibe - a wood-burning oven, a poured-stone bartop, and Italian dishes like you'd get in the old country. But the economy swooned and so did patronage.
In August, Charlton put Trattoria 225 up for sale. The week, ownership passed to William Quick of Chicago and Jose Luna of Naperville.
"It's more of an adoption rather than a death in the family," Charlton told Wednesday Journal. "I'm glad that all the hard work that my family and the staff have put together is going to continue. I think there's a great foundation for these new owners to build on."
The transition will likely be seamless for customers, the new owners say, as they plan to keep the name, hours, staff and menu.
Both Quick and Luna have been in the hospitality business for about 25 years each, working in hotels, restaurants and country clubs. Luna will take over chef duties from Charlton. The business partners, who met at LaGrange Country Club, had been in the market for a restaurant for about a year.
The sale means transferring the five-year lease for 225 Harrison to the new owners, along with the space's fixtures.
Charlton says he believes the new owners will do well, as they won't be saddled with the debt he took on to build out the restaurant. He transformed a vacant office space into a 150-seat restaurant, a project that was estimated to cost $201,150, according to village documents. Charlton got help from the village on the buildout, by way of a $67,050 grant in November 2006. The construction ended up costing about 30 percent more than expected.
Carrying the debt became more difficult with what Charlton calls skyrocketing prices for supplies and a dramatic double-digit percentage drop in business in 2009, compared with 2008.
"Those increased costs on an already tight budget really put us in a bind," he said.
Charlton is uncertain what he'll do next. He signed a no-compete clause in the sale, agreeing that he won't open a restaurant in Oak Park for the next two years. He wants to stay active in the community, continuing to volunteer at the farmers' market. (Charlton had started the tradition of making stone soup at the outdoor venue on its last day every year.)
He and his restaurant have been active in the arts district, and Charlton hopes that will continue with the new owners. He plans to introduce Quick and Luna at a meeting of Harrison business owners today.
"I look forward to taking over those reins and, hopefully. doing more, since there's two of us," Quick said.
CONTACT: mstempniak@wjinc.com
