Casa Royale Banquets in Des Plaines to close by year end

For more than four decades, Casa Royale Banquets has helped create treasured memories for thousands of couples who started their married lives at the downtown Des Plaines banquet hall.

Now, hit hard by the economic recession, the business has stopped taking reservations for weddings and other events for 2013. Casa Royale will close its banquet operation at 783 Lee St. by mid-November after honoring its 2012 wedding and event bookings, said business owner Pasquale “Pat” Ergastolo of Mount Prospect.

“It is very difficult because I am part of the neighborhood,” said Ergastolo, who along with his wife, Julie, has managed the business for nearly 18 of its 45 plus years of operation. “So many memorable events, thousands of weddings, millions of people have been through our doors over the years. Emotionally, that takes a toll.”

Ergastolo, 42, has been in the banquet business since he was 17 years old. He said several factors contributed to his decision to close, including a more than 50 percent decline in wedding business since 2007, competition from other area banquet halls, the property owners’ plan to sell the land in future, and his own desire to spend more time with his grandchildren. The property is owned by the Meohling family.

Besides weddings, Casa Royale also hosts chamber of commerce events, church fundraisers, fashion shows, and other community events at its roughly 13,000-square-foot facility, which has two banquet rooms that can jointly accommodate 500 guests.

“We’ve been very fortunate with having a strong community base,” Ergastolo said. “(But) our bread and butter is the wedding business. Weddings have not only decreased, the sizes of the weddings have decreased. Our functions aren’t as elaborate as they used to be. If it’s not profitable for us to operate, then it’s time for us to go. We’ve run our course; it’s really just time for us to walk away.”

Some of the 20 mostly part-time employees who work at the Lee Street facility will likely be laid off, Ergastolo said.

Casa Royale’s Club Casa Cafe, which has operated for eight years inside the Des Plaines Golf Center on River Road will remain open. In addition to the casual dining restaurant and sports bar, the facility offers a banquet room that can accommodate 100 guests.