‘It’s not labor — it’s love’: Liberty Restaurant celebrating 50 years of family ownership in Libertyville

It’s late morning on a weekday at The Liberty Restaurant and, as he has done for many years, co-owner George Frangos greets a steady flow of customers by name and returns a number of hugs.

Usually, this happens inside the Libertyville institution Frangos bought and began operating 50 years ago with his, brother, Steve, and late uncle, Sam Kapotas.

On this particular day for a few minutes, he’s in the vestibule near where the pay phones used to be fielding questions with his nephew and heir apparent, also named George, about the milestone.

Still heavily involved in the operation, Frangos is matter of fact about what has worked all these years and why he stays connected to the popular family restaurant at 419 S. Milwaukee Ave.

“It’s not labor — it’s love,” he says. “We have a lot of regulars. We know their names, they know us.”

Some patrons may have been attracted by this week’s 1970s throwback price of $2.99 for bacon, eggs, toast. For the next three weeks, select breakfast items will be offered at prices from past decades.

Many customers would be coming anyway, not for a bargain but for the quality homemade dishes and a comfortable experience.

“This is like an actual Libertyville joint,” says Matt O’Brien, who worked a short time at the Dog N Suds that closed, expanded and was renamed the Liberty. “To locals who have been here a long time, this is the place.”

Janie and Milt Taliadouros are relative newcomers having lived in the area about 20 years. They've frequented the Liberty for about 15 years, as often as four times a week.

“They make you feel like you’re at home when you come here,” said Janie Taliadouros, who got a hug and “How are you?” from Frangos when she walked in.

Recipes are made from scratch, soups homemade daily, eggs cooked in butter not oil and corned beef hash made in-house.

“Everything is quality,” Janie Taliadouros said. “The servers all know us by name. Personable, kind, they know what we want before we get to the table.”

And there is a lot to choose from be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Chef’s specials this day included chicken pot pie, stuffed pepper, barbecue ribs, pepper steak and Parmesan-crusted pork chop.

The Frangos emigrated from Greece to Des Plaines and joined their uncle in the new venture. Back then, the restaurant was open from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.

There have been three building face-lifts since, but aside from cosmetic changes the bones of the roughly 175-seat restaurant have remained unchanged.

“It was pure luck. It was a favorable wind that blew us here,” Frangos said. “Libertyville has been a wonderful place for us.”

Seeing restaurants with this longevity is rare, according to Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association.

“Much of that is due to the continued support and patronage of its Libertyville community and a testament to the teams’s love and hard work,” he said.

Frangos says the Liberty and McDonald’s are the only restaurants in town that have operated continuously for the last 50 years under the same name, location and ownership.

“All of our kids have worked here — all of them — busing tables, cleaning, sweeping,” Frangos says. “Now they’re in corporate America and when we tell them to put on an apron, they put on an apron.”

Frangos’ nephew, George, jokes the “two honchos don’t want to give up anything,” but he’s always been committed to the family business and is ready when the time comes.

“It’s always funny when people ask, ‘What’s your position here?’ It depends on the day and it depends what is needed,” he said. One thing won’t change.

“Every day,” he said, “you have a chance to make someone’s day.”