ANDERSONVILLE — Reza’s Restaurant has closed for good following four decades in business and a turbulent recent few years on Clark Street.
One of the city’s oldest and most prominent Persian restaurants, Reza’s announced Monday it had closed its doors “to make way for a new venture.”
Its sister locations in Evanston and Oak Brook remain open, and Reza’s will still offer delivery and catering in the vicinity of its longtime Andersonville location, 5255 N. Clark St., through its other locations, management wrote on social media.
“Thank [you] for your support and memories through the years at this location,” Reza’s management stated in its closure announcement.
Reza’s closure comes roughly one month after it downsized in its flagship Clark Street location, vacating the corner storefront and consolidating into the dining room next door.
The downsizing came after the building housing the restaurant was sold earlier this year to prominent commercial real estate investor Mitch Goltz. The new ownership group is working to overhaul and lease out the corner space that Reza’s previously vacated.
It is unclear what venture is taking the place of Reza’s after its closing. Goltz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reza’s owner, Ryan Toulabi, and a representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Reza’s downsizing and permanent closure come after the restaurant got into hot water with city building inspectors and state tax officials.
Last July, Reza’s in Andersonville saw its state business registration revoked by the Illinois Department of Revenue due to non-complaince with state tax law.
At the same time, the restaurant building was also ordered “off limits” by the Chicago Department of Buildings after inspectors found multiple code violations, including exposed electrical wiring.
Reza’s reopened its Clark Street restaurant a day after losing its state’s license, having resolved its tax issue with the state, officials confirmed at the time. But the business had failed to address the code infractions, and building inspectors ordered the restaurant closed for the second time in three days.
The restaurant eventually reopened last summer.
Reza’s was first opened on Clark Street in 1983 by Reza Toulabias. It is considered one of the first Persian restaurants in the city and has long anchored an Andersonville commercial corridor that has seen major changes over the years.
The business expanded to suburban Oak Brook in 2004 and to Evanston in 2021. Reza’s also had locations in Lincoln Park and River North that have since closed, according to Eater.
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