WHEELING Ill. Don Roth’s Blackhawk, a 40-year-old white-tablecloth institution here, will close after dinner service on New Year’s Eve, owner Ann Roth said Tuesday.
Her announcement means an end to the Roth family’s 89-year, three-generation run in the restaurant industry that began in 1920 when her late husband Don Roth’s father Otto Roth and his brother opened Chicago’s legendary Blackhawk on Wabash Avenue. She has controlled the Wheeling restaurant since Don Roth’s death at age 90 in 2003.
“With my 90th birthday on the horizon and none of my children in a position to assume responsibility for the family business, it will be better to close Don’s last restaurant while it still is a going concern,” Ann Roth said in a statement.
Bob Vorachek, the Wheeling restaurant’s general manager of 15 years, added: “While our restaurant is still very busy, we would need to embark on a major renovation to maintain the standards and quality our customers expect. Without the third generation’s direct involvement, Roth Restaurants cannot continue as a family enterprise.”
Doug Roth, the family’s third-generation restaurateur, left the industry in 1999 after selling his interest in three restaurants he co-developed with Levy Restaurants. That partnership began after Don Roth turned over his 14-year-old Don Roth's Blackhawk on East Pearson Street in Chicago in 1987 to Doug, who, with Levy Restaurants, transformed it into the popular Bistro 110, which is still operated by Levy.
At the height of his company’s operation, Don Roth presided over four restaurants, all of which have been sold or otherwise disposed of, with the exception of the Wheeling branch, which seats 125 people indoors and another 80 in a seasonal outdoor garden cafe. He was a past president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, among several industry affiliations.
Vorachek said the restaurant, which opens for lunch in December but otherwise is a dinner-only business, employs 36 people. The restaurant is offering incentives for employees to stay on through the end of the year, he said, and it will do as much as it can to help all workers craft resumes, prepare for interviews and find new positions with other companies.
The Wheeling restaurant building and land on which it sits are owned by the family, Vorachek said.
Family members said Don Roth originally opened the Wheeling restaurant in that city’s “restaurant row” in 1969 as a way of offering the signature menu from the Chicago Blackhawk to North Shore and northwest suburban customers. The restaurant at 61 N. Milwaukee Ave. was his first solo effort after having made a name for himself by successfully managing the original Blackhawk on Wabash.
Don Roth inherited the Wabash Blackhawk when his father died in 1944, and he used his experience in the advertising and theatrical-booking businesses to build upon the steakhouse's reputation as a supper club. Live broadcasts of big-name bands boosted business through the 1950s. When big band popularity waned, Roth introduced the "Food's the show" concept, with a rolling beef carving cart, a 15-shrimp cocktail and his famed spinning salad bowl presented tableside.
The original Blackhawk was closed in 1984, and Roth later moved the big band memorabilia associated with that venue -- including sheet music and a WGN microphone, among other items -- to the Wheeling restaurant.
Aspecially priced prime rib dinner for $19.69 introduced as part of the restaurant’s 40th anniversary celebration in October is being carried over through November. “We decided to serve it [this month] as we anticipate more longtime customers returning for another visit,” Vorachek said.
“We’ve gotten quite a few calls from people associated with the Blackhawk -- people who have come here over the years and past employees,” he said. “For many people, it’s a big deal.”
Contact Alan J. Liddle at [email protected].