Joe's Crab Shack closes longtime locations in Schaumburg, Gurnee

Joe's Crab Shack is off the menu of dining choices in Schaumburg and Gurnee.

Crews from an outside company removed equipment Thursday afternoon from the Schaumburg establishment on Golf Road just west of Route 53. Some of the Joe's equipment was placed inside a semitrailer parked in the rear of the building across the street from Woodfield Mall.

Schaumburg Assistant Village Manager Paula Hewson said officials were informed about Joe's closure Wednesday. “Very sad to see them go, for sure,” she said.

Joe's opened in Schaumburg in 1997 in what used to be the Bay Street seafood restaurant. As part of the takeover, Joe's expanded the 6,800-square-foot structure and added outdoor dining.

Hewson said it's hoped the Joe's building attracts another user soon, given its visibility in the busy Golf Road corridor.

In Gurnee, village Economic Development Director Ellen Dean said officials were made aware of Joe's closure there. Joe's entered the village 17 years ago at Northridge Plaza, southeast of Grand Avenue and the Tri-State Tollway near Six Flags Great America, and offered indoor dining and an outdoor patio.

“Given the easy tollway access and proximity to major attractions such as Six Flags, Gurnee Mills and, soon, Great Wolf Lodge, this site is highly desirable and will make a great home for another restaurant,” Dean said Thursday.

Texas-based Ignite Restaurant Group, which owns the Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern + Tap chains, announced in June it entered an agreement to sell both brands for a cash-bid offer to an affiliate of Kelly Companies, a San Diego-based private equity firm.

As part of the deal, Ignite and some of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas. Ignite officials didn't return messages seeking comment Thursday.

Meanwhile, a longtime Hoffman Estates eatery also has vanished. Romano's Macaroni Grill, which was an original tenant at a restaurant campus in the late 1990s on the southeast corner of Higgins and Barrington roads, closed about two months ago, village officials said.

Mark Koplin, assistant village manager for development services, said the campus remains strong with eateries including Ala Carte Entertainment-owned Moretti's Ristorante and Pizzeria and Sweet Caroline's Bar-N-Que, which took over long-shuttered Lone Star Steakhouse.

“We believe the (Macaroni Grill) space will get filled soon,” Koplin said.