Comic book store, restaurants and factories departed in 2025
Whether it was mom-and-pop comic book store or a favorite place to eat, customers, as always, had to deal with the loss of some popular local businesses in the suburbs in 2025.
Fans of comic books and graphic novels lost a treasure in September, when Keith’s Komix owners Keith and Cathy Anderson closed their Schaumburg store and retired.
The business had served customers for 30 years.
“This was a place of community,” said Joshua Winchester, a West Chicago resident who’s shopped at Keith’s since 2018. “For 30 years, Keith's Komix and Keith himself have been making the Chicago suburbs, our little corner of the world, a better, brighter and nerdier place to live.”
Movie house, golf course
The Regal Cinema in Lake Zurich shut down in August, after 32 years. The closing was expected, as the property had been for sale.
And golfers in Mundelein mourned the loss of the Village Green golf course. It had been in business for 60 years. Mundelein High School District 120 had bought the property in 2004, and decided to build athletic fields on it.
Food and drink
Patrons were surprised by the closing of Emmett’s Brewery in Downers Grove, which had been there for 21 years. Its two other locations remain open. The Country House closed its Geneva location after more than 30 years. Catch 35 seafood and steak restaurant, on a prominent corner in downtown Naperville, closed up after 21 years. District Brew Yards in Wheeling also turned off the lights after three years.
Chappie’s Cafe in Palatine closed in November, citing the effect of visits to it by immigration law enforcement. The owners also cited the rising cost of food as a reason.
That was quick
The Radio Flyer toy wagon store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg opened in November 2023 and shut down in January.
And a store in Huntley, devoted to selling President Donald Trump-themed and patriotic merchandise, closed in June after its landlord tried to evict it. But the Trump and Truth Store planned to reopen at a new location in Crystal Lake, according to its website.
The Okay Cannabis dispensary and consumption lounge in Wheeling closed in May. It had opened in February 2023. An affiliated business in the same building, West Town Bakery, closed in March.
Manufacturers
TH Foods, which makes snack foods, closed its Elgin plant, laying off 33 workers. PrintPack in Elgin announced in December that it is closing, affecting 111 workers. Amtek Bison Gear in St. Charles closed in July, laying off 167 workers.