Wauconda's Green Goat restaurant closing after three years

Wauconda's Green Goat restaurant is shutting down after nearly three years, management has announced.

The restaurant at 203 S. Main St. will serve its final meals Friday, Feb. 21.

"It is with great sadness that we tell you next week will be our last at the Green Goat," the restaurant announced on its Facebook page. "It has been a great run, but life has a few too many distractions for us to do justice to this great concept."

Co-owner Aaron Aggarwal said the need to balance work with family time was a factor.

"We decided to say goodbye while things were still good," said Aggarwal, who co-owns several other businesses in town. "We will miss the Goat and our customers immensely."

The Green Goat opened in spring 2017. The menu offers hot and cold gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads and smoothies.

The restaurant also hosted cooking classes and other culinary events.

The folks behind the Green Goat - Aggarwal, Joe Kafka, Jeff Middleton and Brian Middleton - are the co-owners of Middleton's on Main, 110 S. Main St.

Kafka and Aggarwal also own Bulldogs Grill, a more casual restaurant at 122 S. Main St.

Aggarwal co-owns Wauconda's Urban Roots Hemp at 210 W. Liberty St., too.

Aggarwal had a soft spot for the Green Goat.

"With all the other restaurants, the Goat was the one that always got the creative juices flowing for me - and kept me fairly healthy," he said. "Our customers allowed us to make it our culinary playground."

After the closing was announced, Green Goat fans shared their love of the restaurant on Facebook.

"(It) was always an enjoyable place for good food," one customer said.

"Sorry to see you go! Your food was always fresh and amazing," another wrote.

Wauconda resident Heather Moran thanked the Green Goat team "for all the yumminess."

"I loved every Green Goat minute I had," Moran wrote.