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Why Hackney's might be closing in Lake Zurich

Hackney's run of serving hamburgers on dark-rye bread and signature onion ring loaf might be ending after 46 years in Lake Zurich, a company official said Friday.

Lake Zurich village board members Tuesday night are scheduled to hold a courtesy review for a proposed redevelopment of the 8-acre Hackney's site at the northeast corner of Route 12 and North Old Rand Road.

Under the tentative plan, Chicago-based UrbanStreet Group would demolish the Hackney's building and replace it with a mix of rental apartments and 10,000 square feet of commercial development. Up to 231 apartment units would be in 2- to 4-story buildings.

Lake Zurich Hackney's general manager Ed Masterson said while no money has exchanged hands, the restaurant could close by year's end if a deal is formalized with UrbanStreet Group. He said Hackney's would not be part of the new project.

"Business is fair," Masterson said Friday. "It's just fair."

UrbanStreet's portfolio includes a 27-story commercial and retail development at 203 N. Wabash Ave. in Chicago and a 132-unit luxury apartment building called The Tower at Old Post Office Plaza in downtown St. Louis.

Hackney's brought its hamburgers on dark rye and onion ring loaf to Lake Zurich in 1969. The Lake Zurich location has a distinctive alpine motif inside and out, accommodating 200 patrons in the main dining room and about 160 on screened-in and outdoor patios.

Masterson's late parents, Jim and Marcella, started Hackney's on Harms Road in Glenview in 1939. He said the restaurant would continue to operate on Harms and on Lake Street in Glenview, as well as in Palos Park and Printers Row in Chicago.

Hackney's first eatery outside of Glenview operated in Wheeling from 1965 to 2011. D'Agostino's Pizza and Pub replaced Hackney's on the Milwaukee Avenue property.

At Tuesday's Lake Zurich village board meeting, trustees are expected to provide feedback on the redevelopment proposal for the Hackney's property. Trustees also would decide whether to allow UrbanStreet Group to proceed in the official village approval process, starting with the advisory planning and zoning commission.

Ed Masterson, son of the late Hackney's founders, is general manager of the Lake Zurich location. Daily Herald file photo
Hackney's famous hamburger with coleslaw and signature onion ring loaf in background at the Lake Zurich location. Daily Herald file photo
Hackney's famous onion ring loaf. Daily Herald file photo
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