Famous Dave's leaves Carpentersville

Those craving Famous Dave's barbecued, baby back ribs in Carpentersville will have to take their appetites up north.

Officials from the restaurant chain have closed their Carpentersville location and are making plans to open in a brand-new space four miles away in Algonquin.

Before shutting its doors last week, Famous Dave's had occupied a highly visible position on Route 31 since February 2001. It was one of the first restaurants the chain opened during its initial expansion and performed well, said Pat Courtemanche, a company spokesman.

But with the Algonquin restaurant set to open Oct. 13, the chain decided there was no need to continue operating the eatery in Carpentersville, Courtemanche said.

All 26 employees from the Carpentersville location will make the move to Algonquin, he said.

With Famous Dave's leaving, Carpentersville has taken yet another hit to its wallet and civic pride. Last year, TGI Friday's, a Route 31 staple for 15 years, closed after its corporate leaders made a business decision to shut it down.

Chicago-based General Growth Properties, landlord for the buildings that housed Famous Dave's and TGI Fridays, is actively seeking new tenants for the pair of neighboring buildings. The bulk of interested parties are restaurants.

"We're constantly marketing both of these properties," said Amy Prew, the company's property manager.

Carpentersville Finance Director Lisa Happ declined to say Monday how much sales tax the restaurant generated for the village.

Village President Bill Sarto said he'd heard rumors swirling about Famous Dave's closing for months, but didn't think they would come to fruition because the eatery seemed to be doing so well.

"I think it's unfortunate for our community because they were serving (a) pretty good clientele, I felt," Sarto said. "And whether those people are going to follow them to Algonquin, I don't really know that."

"It's difficult to understand why a business would leave when they were serving a very large clientele," he later added.

The new facility, on the southeast corner of County Line and Randall Roads, is 6,400 square feet and seats 220 patrons.

"We have a lot of loyal guests in the area who frequented our Carpentersville location," Doug Bruser, general manager of the Algonquin Famous Dave's, said in a news release. "With our new state-of-the-art restaurant design, we look forward to serving those guests better than ever."