LOGAN SQUARE — Marcello’s Father and Son Restaurant, a staple in Logan Square for 72 years, will serve its final customers on Sunday, a manager said Tuesday.
The manager, who declined to be named, told Block Club the owner, Billy Bauer, is struggling to keep up with building repairs. Bauer couldn’t be immediately reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The restaurant’s one-story building at 2475 N. Milwaukee Ave. “has a lot of band-aids and it’s run its course,” the manager said.
Father and Son has a long history in the neighborhood. The Bauer family opened the original restaurant in 1947 at the corner of Diversey Avenue and Whipple Street.
The family moved the family-friendly restaurant to its current location on Milwaukee Avenue across from the now-razed Megamall in 1963.
RELATED: Father and Son Restaurant Turns Back the Clock in Changing Logan Square
Father and Son’s speciality has always been its thin crust, tavern-style pizza made using a family recipe passed down over the generations. Flatbreads, sandwiches and salads, as well as pasta, seafood and chicken dishes, round out the menu.
When the restaurant closes, it’ll be the latest change to hit the 2400 and 2500 blocks of North Milwaukee Avenue.
In recent years, the stretch has attracted a string of new trendy bars and restaurants including Daisies and BiXi Beer.
Construction crews are in the middle of building a massive, 220-unit apartment complex with retail and a small-format Target on the old Megamall site across from Father and Son. According to the developer’s website, studios will rent for $1,975 per month.
The manager of the Logan Square location told Block Club Father and Son’s last-remaining location in suburban Northbrook will remain open. The Lincoln Park location at 645 W. North Ave. closed in 2018, according to Eater.
Asked how customers are handling news of the Logan Square location’s closure, the manager said, “Everyone’s sad.”
This is a developing story.