Journey ends for Mundelein landmark as it's razed for CVS

As rain fell softly Wednesday morning, washing away the previous day's dirt and debris, a decades-old Mundelein landmark became history.

Nearly two years after it closed, the Journey's End restaurant - famous for its nautical theme and hot soup - was demolished by construction crews. The Annex, the bar adjoining the restaurant at routes 45 and 83, was knocked down, too.

A CVS Pharmacy is set to be built on the land, which overlooks one of Mundelein's busiest entryways.

Employees and patrons at Elly's Pancake House, which is just north of the site on Route 45, mourned the classic restaurant.

"It's going to be sad to see that corner not looking the same," Mundelein resident Sue Cupec said. "And you always ran into friends there. You always ran into people you knew."

Lauren Baniqued, a manager at Elly's, shared fond memories of eating soup with her family at Journey's End as a child.

"It's crazy to see it go," Baniqued said.

Established more than 30 years ago, Journey's End was co-owned by George Orfanos; his brother, Harry Orfanos; and Greg DiPiero. In 2008, DiPiero said they sold the land not because the restaurant was doing poorly - it wasn't - but because the purchase offer was so good.

As she waited for breakfast at Elly's on Wednesday, Grayslake resident Rosemary Washburn said she had hoped the owners would reconsider and buy back the restaurant.

"But they didn't, and now reality hits," Washburn said.

The demise of Journey's End left Mundelein with a shortage of reasonably priced, family-friendly restaurants open at the dinner hour, Elly's patron Claudia Pieske said.

"Mundelein needs restaurants like that," she said.

Laura McCarthy, a server at Elly's, worked at Journey's end in the 1980s and early 1990s. She wasn't as nostalgic as some of the other people at Elly's on Wednesday.

"It was time," she said. "Thing change. Times change."