Former Slott's Hots in Libertyville to remain vacant awhile longer
Work to convert the former Slott's Hots restaurant in Libertyville is on an indefinite back burner as the owners shift gears to pursue an unexpected opportunity elsewhere.
The Vlahakis family will focus on the former Photo's Hotdogs, which closed a few months ago after 30 years at Wolf and Kensington roads in Mount Prospect.
"It was a deal we couldn't refuse," said Peter Vlahakis, co-owner of a longtime family business that operates Greek Feast in Northbrook. He said word of a possible opportunity surfaced last Friday night and a deal was done the next day.
"We couldn't pass it up. We'll begin working on that (Photo's) first," he said. He said he was scheduled to meet with Mount Prospect officials on Thursday to discuss the plan.
"We're going to remodel the whole thing (and) rebrand it," Vlahakis said. Rather than a second Greek Feast, the Mount Prospect location will be a different concept with a new name to be determined, he said.
Vlahakis said he and his brother and business partner, Ted, grew up in the area and went to Photo's in their younger days. The building is about twice the size of that in Libertyville, he said.
"We'll begin working on that first," Vlahakis said. "We want to open up this one, put everything in order and move on to Libertyville."
That will be a while as the Mount Prospect opening at this point is planned for August, according to Vlahakis.
That's disappointing news for Libertyville, although the village has become known for a variety of dining choices and has become a destination for many upscale, non-chain restaurants in the core downtown area.
"For now, we're going to keep it (Slott's) as is and go back to it. We don't want to do too many projects at once and spread ourselves too thin," Vlahakis said.
Slott's Hots was a popular place to grab a burger or hot dog and had been a mainstay for 30 years at 1124 N. Milwaukee Ave., just out of the downtown area north of Winchester Road.
But the business closed abruptly in early 2015 and the diminutive building has remained a question on the landscape for 23,000 drivers who pass daily.
Potential users came and went. But the Vlahakis family followed through with plans for what would be the second Greek Feast location and in spring 2017 received village approvals to proceed.
However, work was delayed after some elements were redesigned. With the holidays nearing, planned construction in Libertyville was put off to this spring with a tentative opening this summer.
With approvals in place, village officials had been waiting for Greek Feast to apply for the permits to allow the actual work to start.