Twin Peaks restaurant closes in Wheeling
Twin Peaks restaurant in Wheeling permanently closed its doors last month after about 6½ years in business along the town's "Restaurant Row," village officials confirmed.
John C. Melaniphy, Wheeling's director of economic development, said the closure affected up to 45 employees of the Texas-based chain, which in 2012 chose the site at 781 N. Milwaukee Ave. for its first Illinois location.
Melaniphy believes the 12,000-square-foot building may ultimately have been too large to sustain the restaurant. The space near the Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel previously was home to a Claim Jumper restaurant.
"The sheer size of the facility creates a lot of overhead cost that had to be met," Melaniphy said. "Although business is very strong over the weekends, you still have to bear those overhead costs throughout the week."
The village's economic development team will be marketing to businesses able to handle a large-scale operation.
"We have prepared a list of target types of restaurants and we've also considered the possibility of (dividing) the space into two restaurants, and other potential adaptive measures," Melaniphy said.
Melaniphy said he does not know if the 45 employees will be relocated to another restaurant, but he noted that the chain's Orland Park location also has closed.
Messages left at the corporate office of Twin Peaks were not returned.
Melaniphy said that while the closing is unfortunate, restaurants in the village continue to generate more than $100 million in annual sales.