Arlington Heights sports bar closes less than a year after reopening and rebranding
A sports bar on the north side of Arlington Heights that was rebranded and reopened amid much fanfare last year has closed.
Craft Republic Bar & Grill, at 910-918 W. Dundee Road within the Ridge Plaza strip shopping center, relinquished its Class AA liquor license at village hall. As a result of the closure, the village board this week formally decreased the number of authorized licenses in town.
Craft Republic lasted less than a year following a March 2022 opening in the same footprint as the former Fox & Hound. The latter restaurant closed in 2021; both national sports bar chains are owned by the same parent company, San Diego-based Kelly Operations Group.
A spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday. But Michael Mertes, the village's business development manager, said it's clear the business just wasn't bringing in the numbers that were anticipated.
"It wasn't for a lack of effort on our part," Mertes said. "Staff met with the new general manager on site. The chamber had multiple events there not long after opening and had a social media post letting people know they were there."
Last year, Craft Republic had four restaurants across the country, but a check of its website Wednesday showed only two. Fox & Hound had nine locations last year, but now has seven, including one in Schaumburg.
Mertes is hopeful the 9,600-square-foot restaurant space will be able to attract a suitable tenant. The shopping center is anchored by Kohl's and XSport Fitness, and has the popular Portillo's in an outlot.
"It's certainly a site with good visibility and hopefully it can turn over to a restaurant partner or another business," he said.