‘It was a landmark’: Co-owner among onlookers as former Des Plaines restaurant is demolished

The demolition of a former restaurant building with decades-old roots in Des Plaines has been drawing spectators.

Among the visitors to what’s left of 1062 Lee St. has been Joanna Brunetti, a member of the family that operated Nick’s La Cantina there as far back as the 1960s — as well as its successor, Giuseppe’s La Cantina.

“It’s been part of my life since I was born,” said Brunetti, 62, of Des Plaines. “It was a landmark for us.”

Brunetti left with a brick from the structure and a plaque featuring a Daily Herald article about the restaurant, the latter of which had been displayed inside. The items were salvaged by Hector Vega, a member of the Albrecht Enterprises crew that’s dismantling the building.

“They wanted to have something,” Vega said. “You know, memories.”

Brunetti, whose family owns Giuseppe’s Pizzeria & Catering at 554 E. Algonquin Road in Des Plaines, expressed her gratitude by treating the workers to lunch.

“She bought pizza for us,” Vega said.

Des Plaines purchased the triangular Lee Street property and a nearby parking lot last year for $675,000 as part of an ongoing effort to repurpose vacant and dilapidated buildings. Once the demolition concludes in early June, officials intend to add topsoil and grass seed to the lot and turn it into public open space.

“As the southern gateway to downtown, this property presents an opportunity to create a welcoming space for visitors exploring our restaurants and entertainment options,” Mayor Andrew Goczkowski said Thursday through a spokesperson.

The building started as a small shopping plaza with several tenants, one of which was a restaurant called La Cantina, Brunetti said. Her parents, Giuseppe and Domenica Brunetti, and two additional relatives bought that restaurant in 1963 and renamed it Nick’s La Cantina.

The operation expanded gradually, eventually taking over the entire building. As often is the case with family-run restaurants, Joanna Brunetti and her three siblings spent much of their childhoods there.

“Our friends would come and visit us at the restaurant because we were working,” she recalled. “It would be the gathering place.”

The siblings took over the place in 1991 and changed the name to Giuseppe’s La Cantina to honor their father after he retired.

The younger Brunettis retired and closed the restaurant in 2017.

Five Boroughs Pizza occupied the Lee Street building next; then it became Sahil Grill & Lounge and Brew Lounge. None lasted long.

The building subsequently fell into disrepair, running up thousands of dollars in city fines. Brunetti said the deterioration “broke our hearts.”

Just a few sections of the building’s outer walls remained standing Thursday. Most of the structure now is rubble, with scattered piles of bricks, equipment and scrap metal that will be recycled.

Brunetti is glad the building no longer will be an eyesore on Lee Street. That the site could once again be a gathering place for Des Plaines residents “kind of makes me feel good,” she said.