Ann Sather's in Andersonville is Closed

Wow. Talk about taking a place for granted. I walked up to the Ann Sather's in Andersonville this morning for my usual Saturday in the hood breakfast only to find it shuttered and dark. Letters from the owner were posted explaining that she (Debbie Tunney) has closed the place to go sailing. (That may be a metaphor -- at any rate, she's gone, gone, gone). There was also some comment about her brother, Alderman Tom Tunney, owner of most of the Ann Sathers' in town, re-opening sometime in the future but it's not specified as to when.

I'm bummed. I was a regular there -- they knew me -- I knew them. I looked forward to my time in a booth eating something yummy and getting my Saturday errand and grocery list together. I know it wasn't the most creative breakfast in town and sometimes...not even in the top eschelon -- but I liked it. Loved the room, loved the flowers on the table and really liked the waiters and waitresses. They had the best applesauce -- more like stewed apples -- and I've never found the other Sathers' in town to have the same quality in food.

Now where do I go??? It's ridiculous how sad I feel about this.

Shannon

Oh, no! I agree, it doesn't have the best breakfast in town, but it's a real institution - and it's possible to find parking near that location, unlike the Belmont one; plus the opportunity to window-shop in a cute, eclectic neighborhood.

And even though it isn't the best breakfast, it's still a very good breakfast. I've certainly never left hungry or unsatisfied.

That Ann Sather's was certainly well beyond the two other options I know of at that end of Andersonville -- the sadly pedestrian Corner Grille and the miserable Charlie's Ale House.

A little farther north, there are A Taste of Heaven (good but not always to my taste -- the biscuits and gravy are downright bizarre) and Angel's (which I haven't tried), and of course M. Henry, which is very good if you're patient enough to wait. (Although as a solo diner, you might be able to score a counter seat.) Of course, Pauline's is on Ravenswood at Balmoral, a few blocks west. You may be in a position of starting a new tradition, at least until Ann Sather's reopens, but you've got some good options.

hey, don't go forgetting Svea, which is just across the street from Ann Sather's. It is much smaller and humbler than AS's but it's also one of our dying breeds of non-chain restaurants in the neighborhood. I am a huge fan of the Swedish Tease breakfast (despite its unfortunate name). They make the best Swedish Pancakes in Andersonville (although, apparently, competition is waning eh?) and better and more consistent than Tre Kroner's.

Corner Grille is shuttered too (no surprise there) . . .

bjt

Well, Bob, I'll tell you -- I've actually lived in the hood for almost 12 years now so I know all the other options pretty much by heart. I agree with your assessment of the other restaurants -- M. Henry is tasty but pretty far north from me and it's a little fussy. I actually tried A Taste of Heaven for breakfast last Saturday (which, if I hadn't, I might have found out about Sathers -- I'm kinda kicking myself on that score) and while it wasn't bad -- it wasn't what I was really looking for. I had their biscuits and gravy, not a usual choice for me and while it was okay -- it was not at all what you think of as "traditional" biscuits and gravy. The gravy was sort of orange -- yet not really that spicy -- and they used chicken sausage, which was not bad but not good old fashioned artery clogging sagey pork sausage. The biscuits were cornmeal biscuits and really very good.

Pauline's has always underwhelmed me. Their five egg omelets scare me ever since I had one that wasn't really cooked. I can tell you that Angel's is really scary. Like, I'd be afraid of what would happen to me later on, scary.

AT ANY RATE....I truly do appreciate your comments. Next Saturday I'm going to get up a bit earlier and try for Svea. I've never liked the interior of it very well but the food is pretty good. If only that stupid Ranalli's going into the Urban Epicure's old space was something like a Toast. Or a good old fashioned diner. Or actually -- anything at all other than a Ranalli's.

Today I ended up on a Clark Street bus headed towards Wrigleyville. I got off an Uncommon Ground and had a pretty decent but expensive omelet. This might actually give me an opportunity to get out of my rut and try all sorts of spots around the city -- I just have to get my tuchas out of bed early enough to avoid lines. I want to check out Over Easy and I've never been to the Bongo Room. Arent' there supposed to be some good spots over in Lincoln Square and Southport and Roscoe Village? Maybe I'll even head on down to Ina's for something really out of the way. I'm trying to twist this into a positive but I've never had a restaurant that I was a regular at just disappear.

I know I'm being a major baby. I apologize for inflicting my 40 year old tantrum on all ya'll.....

shannon

Being part Swedish, AS will be sorely missed especially since my stepdaughter now lives in the neighborhood.

I hear that Taste of Heaven makes a pretty good Pot Pie?

I know it is a touch off topic but I am curious...

I was a regular there -- they knew me -- I knew them...really liked the waiters and waitresses.

My fiancee will be happy to know her service was appreciated, although it'd be nice to know how we're going to pay the rent now that her secondary income is gone. She was on the schedule for this morning, woke up with me at quarter to 5, I get a phonecall at about 6:30 having arrived at a locked and darkened Ann Sathers.

No phone call saying Debbie had "retired," no thank you for her many months of service. In retrospect, perhaps this is why they've been out of many menu items over the past month so this certainly isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision on the owners part, working down the stock and all. The ownership there had always been a miserable couple of people, so it's not surprising, but it is somewhat saddening.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to put my most recent Sathers complaint--I met my folks up there a couple weeks ago and they got to the restaurant first. My mother approached Ann-Marie, the co-owner managing the wait list that morning and asked for a table for four in my fiancee's section. When asked for a name, my mother responded with my dad's name, saying "Karl with a K."

We're picky about spelling. And who knows how many Carls there might be on the list?

Ann-Marie snapped back with "I don't CARE how its spelled, I'm going to spell it how I want!" They were then shooed halfway up the stairs to wait for our table, leading my mother to lean over to me and whisper, "That woman is a witch!" upon my arrival. The less-than-mediocre potato pancakes were insult to injury but I suppose I should have known better.

Edited for clarity, one time total.

We've always turned to Augie's for diner breakfast and Svea for Swedish breakfast.

It's sad to see things go, though. I'll be sure to stop down at Ann Sather's today to read the sign in the window.

All,

Sad about Sathers, but NOTHING to be afraid of at Angels. We breakfast there frequently and find the food fine and the staff friendly. Only down side is the standard mediocre coffee, but they have never kicked at us bringing our own.

earthlydesire wrote: This might actually give me an opportunity to get out of my rut and try all sorts of spots around the city -- I just have to get my tuchas out of bed early enough to avoid lines.

We also are trying to expand our range (which is usually just down to Toast). On Sunday mornings there are few cars out, so it didn't happen today, but we've decided to take a bike ride somewhere for breakfast that we haven't been before.

There are places open early, though most open at 10 or 11.

Maybe we'll see you out and about some morning!

whiskeybent wrote:
My fiancee will be happy to know her service was appreciated, although it'd be nice to know how we're going to pay the rent now that her secondary income is gone. She was on the schedule for this morning, woke up with me at quarter to 5, I get a phonecall at about 6:30 having arrived at a locked and darkened Ann Sathers.

No phone call saying Debbie had "retired," no thank you for her many months of service. In retrospect, perhaps this is why they've been out of many menu items over the past month so this certainly isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision on the owners part, working down the stock and all. The ownership there had always been a miserable couple of people, so it's not surprising, but it is somewhat saddening.

Man, I'm sorry to hear about that. That is a really crappy, inexcusable way for an owner to handle the situation. This certainly doesn't do anything to change my impression of Tom Tunney and his mini-empire (I know he doesn't "technically" own AS any longer but don't get me started). I guess we can all voice our opinion by voting with our wallets and dining elsewhere.

After an afternoon of reflection, a six-pack of beer and a few phone calls, we figure that the daily employees probably were informed on the last day. My fiancee had been calling for the past couple days to make sure they'd need her this morning and after recieving no answer to any of her calls, we started wondering if the place had burnt down.

In any event, I'm very curious as to the real reasons for the close, because the owners were really sitting on a gold mine. Between the restaurant and the catering business, it made money hand over fist in sales every year. Eight dollar plates of eggs go far when you've got people out the door hankering for cinnamon rolls.

You know...I only saw the public "managerial face" of the owners. One of them was visibly pious and seemed very hooked into the Catholic side of things -- always talking about Misericordia and nuns and such. She always seemed to be so concerned about her customers -- and I always felt treated like a special customer because i was a regular.

The other one -- the one mentioned above -- always seemed harried and overworked. As if she was being dragged into the business without her consent and I think the front of house suffered when Debbie went primarily into the kitchen and Ann Marie worked the house.

But I never would have thought that Debbie would have treated her staff with that much callous indifference. I mean....wouldn't you think after a 20 year run you'd at least give a week's notice of close? I mean, come on -- as Whiskeybent mentions, the place was a gold mine. You could tell that she had a tight hold over the staff -- being there a lot I noticed a lot of things...but come on....not even letting your staff know you're out of business? That sounds like a con man running a long con -- not a respected business owner in a pretty stable community. I have to say I feel a bit swindled. Hoodwinked, even.

I hope those folks get their last paycheck -- small though waiters' paychecks are. I've been completely appalled since your post, Whiskeybent -- and I hope that your fiance finds a new job soon.

I never would have thought that Debbie would have treated her staff with that much callous indifference.

Man, if you only knew.

I've been completely appalled since your post, Whiskeybent -- and I hope that your fiance finds a new job soon.

As weird as it sounds, that's very nice of you to say [about the being apalled], and even though my fiancee was only there a couple days a week, it was enough to pay the bills. The customers there were rarely complained about, just the powers that be.

Having hung around while she was working, I myself got to know a couple regulars and always enjoyed their company. I'll even cop to the fact that I enjoyed the "hash browns."

Maybe we should all just go to breakfast some Saturday morning and have a nice healthy vent-fest.

Arent' there supposed to be some good spots over in Lincoln Square and Southport and Roscoe Village

There are quite a few places in Roscoe Village for weekend breakfast/brunch. Victory's Banner is a vegetarian place with outstanding pancakes and omelets- I eat there at LEAST several times a month. They also have a very tasty house-made chai, good bread, and nice outdoor seating. The waitstaff is lovely.

Kitschn on Roscoe is very popular, but to my taste, pretty unremarkable. I've never had anything bad, but nothing is outstanding.

Brett's Cafe serves a weekend breakfast, but I've never had it. I have had very good dinners there.

Victory's Banner
2100 W Roscoe

Kitschn on Roscoe
2005 W Roscoe

Brett's Cafe Americain
2011 W Roscoe

sweetsalty wrote:Victory's Banner is a vegetarian place with outstanding pancakes and omelets- I eat there at LEAST several times a month. They also have a very tasty house-made chai, good bread, and nice outdoor seating. The waitstaff is lovely.

I walked past there the other day, the staff all had on the same saris. Does it have a religious/philosophical affiliation or is it just a uniform?

leek wrote:

sweetsalty wrote:Victory's Banner is a vegetarian place with outstanding pancakes and omelets- I eat there at LEAST several times a month. They also have a very tasty house-made chai, good bread, and nice outdoor seating. The waitstaff is lovely.

I walked past there the other day, the staff all had on the same saris. Does it have a religious/philosophical affiliation or is it just a uniform?

Uninformed answer based simply on an impression after lunching there: The staff definitely share a "worldview" that goes beyond simply being in favor of saving the whales or something. Whether that shared worldview is something that could be called a religion, I don't know. But I got the feeling of something going on there. However, it didn't put me off my feed!

leek wrote:

sweetsalty wrote:Victory's Banner is a vegetarian place with outstanding pancakes and omelets- I eat there at LEAST several times a month. They also have a very tasty house-made chai, good bread, and nice outdoor seating. The waitstaff is lovely.

I walked past there the other day, the staff all had on the same saris. Does it have a religious/philosophical affiliation or is it just a uniform?

The answer you seek:
http://www.victorysbanner.com/about.htm
http://www.srichinmoy.org/

Best,
Michael

bjt wrote:hey, don't go forgetting Svea... It is... one of our dying breeds of non-chain restaurants in the neighborhood...

Corner Grille is shuttered too (no surprise there)

bjt

We've been to Svea a couple times and went again this afternoon. They are old-school in the best possible way. This is the type of place that greets you at your table with the coffee pot, and butter is already on the toast when they bring it to you. You should see the old-fashioned register.

While we were there, we heard the owner of Svea talking to some other customers about Ann Sather. (The closure's been great for his business, he's thinking about remodeling.) Apparently the AS owner had always really wanted to focus on catering and to be home with her kids more.

The customers also asked about Corner Grille. He laughed, "That guy didn't know what he was doing, he just opened whenever he felt like it."

We walked by Ann Sather and read the sign. It says they will re-open on July 15. (So those waiters and waitresses should be able to make their rent after all, with only one week off.) They'll probably make back their losses from the mad rush of people who realized they took Ms. Sather, her cinnamon rolls (excellent) and $8 eggs (average) for granted.

By the way, at Svea the eggs with toast and potatoes are $3.85. Steak and eggs are $7.35 (and a good, no-gristle piece of ribeye at that.) There's the "Viking" combo: Swedish pancakes, sauasages and eggs. Good (how can you mess this food up?) and cheap. Highly recommended!

Svea
5236 N Clark St
(cash only)

I agree that Augie's does your basic greasy spoon breakfast acceptably. If you want to travel a bit further, A&T Grill (at around 7000-7100 N. Clark) does it even better -- though a bit pricey it seems to me.

I've enjoyed the weekend buffet at Angel's many a time. I can't quite picture what about it might frighten you. (I agree with the other poster about the weak coffee. I just don't order it any more.) In addition to doing all the basic American breakfast items decently, I really like some of the more substantial Mexian things on the steam tables. It's always crowded, kids are welcome and the service is always very friendly.

Corner Grille is definitely no loss.

Love the Viking at Svea, but it can be really hard to get a table.

A bit farther in the other direction is Angel Food - (west on either Wilson or Montrose; I apologize for not having the info at hand or memory). Very informal bakery cafe, but nicely done slightly upscale dishes.

The place that scares me but I feel I have to try at least once is Benny's Grill on Argyle. This looks like the breakfast place equivalent of a transient hotel, but I live right there and I just want to try it once and see what happens. (Anyone ever been in?)

mrbarolo wrote:The place that scares me but I feel I have to try at least once is Benny's Grill on Argyle. This looks like the breakfast place equivalent of a transient hotel, but I live right there and I just want to try it once and see what happens. (Anyone ever been in?)

Funny you should ask that. I was talking with Anna last week, the owner of Farragut's bar on Clark. Her mother (also an Anna, btw), owned Benny's Grill before opening Farragut's. Apparently, Benny's primary clientele reside in the nearby low income housing, and every month, customers would hand over their welfare checks so that they could be assured of a hot meal. Anna described growing up in Benny's Grill as somewhat akin to living in a "halfway house" given the colorful patrons.

I wandered into Benny's on Memorial Day seeking a greasy breakfast. The one thing that immediately caught my eye was the huge rack of lottery tickets for sale. I sat down at the counter and was immediately accosted for the price of a cup of coffee from a neighbor. This man spent the rest of my visit there, winking and grinning at me while I was trying to eat, which was disconcerting to say the least. I ordered eggs over easy, sausage links, and toast. The sausage links were execrable. I've never used that word to describe food, but it seems appropriate here. The eggs were fine, but the toast took its time arriving. I mentioned the lack of toast several times to the counter man/(owner?) who divided his time between yelling at the customers and making incredibly crude and vulgar remarks to anyone in earshot. Finally, I got up and fetched the toast (by this time, cold) myself.

Needless to say, the probability of my walking into Benny's Grill a second time is low.

In the spirit of Internet tho', YMMV

Thanks for saving me the trip. Your description is exactly what I imagined and I don't feel compelled to find out for myself. I had entertained the willfuly sentimental notion that beneath the scary/depressing surface might be a crew of down-and-out regulars functioning as an eccentric extended family like something in a Lanford Wilson or Saroyan play. Guess not.

We've heard now one side of the story. Let's not be so quick to judge. I'm interested in hearing the "other side" of what happened, and why. The owners of the restaurant have always been considered, by customers and neighboring businesses, good people as far as I know. I've never heard a negative word. The restaurant had a long and successful run - I hope Tom can re-open it. Nasty comments by ex-employees (and those they help support) might be expected and although they might be accurate, they also might not. Has anyone spoken with the Belmont Ave. Sather group, or Tom Tunney about this to see what they/he says?

I for one am glad to see it gone. The last time I was there I ordered the chili and crab cakes, which contained no crab that I could taste, only some krab. The chili was bland and blah. Any restaurant that could serve those two dishes at the prices I paid should have been out of business long ago.

In the Reader I picked up today, there's an article about the dramatic rise in property taxes in Andersonville. The article mentions Debbie Tunney and taxes are cited as one of her reasons for bailing out. Here it is.

This week's Time Out Chicago not only refers to this Ann Sathers location, but names it superior to the Lakeview location. This makes me think that it was quite a sudden decision- though I admit I know nothing about magazine publication/how long ago that story had to be submitted.

Holly of Uptown wrote:In the Reader I picked up today, there's an article about the dramatic rise in property taxes in Andersonville. The article mentions Debbie Tunney and taxes are cited as one of her reasons for bailing out. Here it is.

Yup, just last night, a friend who works for the Andersonville chamber said that Debbie's property taxes rose $4000/month. My friend did say that Tom Tunney is definitely planning on reopening.

The last time I was there I ordered the chili and crab cakes

Ordering that at Ann Sather's is sort of like ordering the roasted turkey and dressing dinner at Chili's. To the extent that they have strengths at all, you're sure going straight against them.

merkay wrote:Yup, just last night, a friend who works for the Andersonville chamber said that Debbie's property taxes rose $4000/month. My friend did say that Tom Tunney is definitely planning on reopening.

Just to clarify - the Reader article indicates Debbie's tax bill will rise TO approximately $4000 per month. She is not seeing a $4000 per month increase.
I'd be curious to know if they own the building where Ann Sather is located. I know Tom Tunney owns several buildings along Belmont - including the Lakeview Ann Sather location.

Quote:
The last time I was there I ordered the chili and crab cakes


Ordering that at Ann Sather's is sort of like ordering the roasted turkey and dressing dinner at Chili's. To the extent that they have strengths at all, you're sure going straight against them.

I understand. Nonetheless, chili and crab cakes were on the menu and they were not done well. What is missing here is pride and a sense of craft. So perhaps the owners might do better doing something that they care about.