Punch Bowl Social in Schaumburg closes permanently after lease dispute
Punch Bowl Social has announced the permanent closure of its location at 1100 American Lane in Schaumburg, with representatives saying they could not reach an agreement on new lease terms with the building's landlord.
Robert Thompson, founder and CEO of Punch Bowl Social, released a written statement on the decision affecting both the Schaumburg restaurant and another in Stapleton, Colorado, whose building is owned by the same landlord.
"In this new reality, landlords cannot expect to maintain status quo economic terms that were negotiated in pre-pandemic times," Thompson wrote. "As such, we determined it was in Punch Bowl Social's best interest to sever ties. We will not be reopening either of the locations but are looking forward to welcoming guests in the future to our original downtown Denver-South Broadway and downtown Chicago-West Loop locations which serve both of those markets."
Though the location was challenged by not being visible from Golf, Meacham or Higgins roads, Schaumburg Economic Development Director Frank said it remains a beautiful 22,000-square-foot building with outdoor seating.
"Obviously, we hate to lose Punch Bowl," Frank said.
A restaurant would still be the preferred use of the building, even if its three levels might lend themselves to hosting more than once concept in the future, he added.
Punch Bowl Social opened on the site in December 2015. The John Barleycorn restaurant that originally occupied the building opened in 2008 but ceased day-to-day operations in June 2013.
For a time after that, it was an exclusively special-events venue before transforming into the short-lived Old Crow Smokehouse.
The building had been vacant for a few months before the plan for Punch Bowl Social was approved by Schaumburg officials in April 2015.
Punch Bowl Social closed on March 15 due to the COVID-19 safety concerns, and the Schaumburg location has not operated since then.