Without advance notice, Jefferson Park institution Gale Street Inn closes for good

At 9:10 p.m. Wednesday, almost a full hour until the posted closing time, the door to get into the Gale Street Inn was locked. Although there were still diners finishing their meals, no one else was being let in and it appeared that the restaurant, which has operated since 1963, had served its last meal.

On site at the restaurant at 4914 N. Milwaukee Ave., owner George Karzas said, “I’m tired, it’s hard,” and he promised to post more on social media on Thursday. He would only add that “business is good. It’s not business, it’s staffing,” which has proven to be a major challenge for many restaurants since the COVID-19 pandemic.

About two hours earlier Wednesday night, speculation that the Jefferson Park stalwart might be closing began when the restaurant posted a video on Instagram of the inside of the restaurant with the words, “It’s been a heck of a run Chicago, thank you!” with the Bruce Cockburn song “Last Night of the World” playing in the background. The post did not provide further explanation.

On Thursday morning, Gale Street Inn posted another message on Instagram, explaining further. It said, “With a sad but satisfied heart, we have closed our restaurant. Hiring and retaining quality staff has proven too tough for too long. …To the city of Chicago, we loved operating in the greatest food town on the planet.”

For the Gale Street Inn, known for its tender baby back ribs, the closure comes about a year after a complete remodel and a few years after surviving the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the closing of nearly 19% of all restaurants in Chicago within the first year alone, according to market researcher Datassential. Numbers for the following years were not available.

The restaurant which has been in operation since 1963 (originally across the street from its current location), was bought by Karzas’ father in 1985. After his death in 1994, Karzas took the reins, where he’s remained ever since.

The news seemed to take diners like Glencoe resident Jim Wigoda by surprise on Wednesday. He was saddened to hear the news.

“It’s a Chicago institution, it’s too bad,” Wigoda said, adding that it was often convenient for him to meet friends from downtown Chicago at Gale Street after driving from the North Shore.

Others responded to the Instagram post with a mixture of confusion, sadness and shock.

“What’s going on” “Say it ain’t so” and “No! Please no” were among the many comments from people on Instagram.

Reached by phone, Illinois Restaurant Association Executive Director Sam Toia was unaware of the announcement but provided a statement largely blaming the closure on the elimination of the tip credit, something some restaurant owners are working to repeal in Chicago, and the raids by ICE, which he said have caused some restaurant workers to stay home.

“Between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 when tip credit was eliminated, the Chicago restaurant industry has lost 5,200 jobs. To hear Gale Street Inn is closing after being in business for decades in Jefferson Park and has been the anchor of the downtown Jefferson Park Neighborhood is devastating,” Toia wrote.

He added, “If we keep mandating and raising property taxes on our independent restaurants throughout our 77 communities, we will see more iconic restaurants like Gale Street Inn closing in our neighborhoods … and more empty storefronts on our commercial streets. … Without small businesses/restaurants, neighborhoods do not thrive. Also, ongoing ICE workplace raids targeting essential workers are significantly disrupting businesses and contributing to more inflation. Our independent restaurants in Chicago are very scared for their businesses as immigrants do not want to come to work, and immigrants are the backbone of the hospitality industry here in the City of Chicago, and if these raids from ICE pick up here in Chicago, we’re going to lose more small businesses. It’s going to make the staffing issue even harder.”

Northwest Side resident and former Chicago Sun-Times reporter Abdon Pallasch, reached by phone, said he was saddened and reflected on going to the restaurant for decades via a text message.

“No! That’s crushing! The Gale Street Inn has been a Jefferson Park Institution for generations," Pallasch said. "My dad took me there for ribs when I was in high school and I’ve brought my own sons there. They managed to struggle through the COVID-19 shutdowns and we thought they would be fine now.”