Many of our customers and friends already know that we have been working to open a second location of Alice & Friends at The Glen.
In the past few months, we received more and more messages asking about the opening date. Some of you have also shared your excitement to celebrate a special occasion in our new place and that makes us happy. Unfortunately, we have also received a few harsh comments stating that we had been lying as we had previously hoped to open early Summer and it didn’t happen. This is why, in the spirit of honesty, we want to share why the opening date continues to be delayed.
(Hint: Special Announcement at the End of the Blog)
Backstory about Alice & Friends at The Glen
We always knew that we wanted to expand Alice & Friends but it wasn’t until 2020 that we started searching for a location.
Running a local restaurant is hard and even harder to make a profit. And when we have profit, it all goes to our team and the non-for-profit organizations that we support.
As a women-owned business, our family supports our daily living expenses with our (other) family business.
This is why, when we decided to expand, it wasn’t because we were profitable but because we wanted to provide a career path for our team and continue with our mission to promote veganism.
When thinking about our team members, many started working with us when they were younger. Some even recommended their family members to work with us, and now we have a large team.
We’re grateful to have a team that believes in us and with this second location in Glenview, our desire is to provide a space for those that want a career with us. We want our employees to be managers and even partner with us in the future.
Why The Glen Town Center?
We searched for a place both in the city and suburbs but ultimately in 2021, we decided that a place in our town was the most obvious choice since there was a need for more vegan restaurants. To put it simply, Glenview sometimes feels like a vegan dessert compared to the options there are in Chicago!
After finding the perfect place in The Glen Town Center, we spent the following 6 months negotiating the lease. This was during a period of economic uncertainty due to Covid-19 and at that moment, we questioned if it was the right time and how our family would manage two businesses. Nonetheless, we decided to move forward with the process and for a little while everything seemed to fall into place. The design and construction of the new establishment went smoothly. This gave us confidence that we would open the second location by the end of summer of 2023.
But then, we entered into the world of endless inspections.
What Makes Restaurant Inspections Lengthy?
The town of Glenview is very well regulated and they deserve credit for that. Unfortunately for us, this in combination with subcontractor issues has made inspections extremely difficult to pass. Every time an inspector comes, there are additional things to add or change. These changes of course take time and cost more and more money.
Thankfully, all this process has come to an end and we can now announce that we have an opening date! Alice & Friends at The Glen will open next Wednesday 1/24/2024 at 4:00 p.m.
What to celebrate with us? Visit us at The Glen Town Center – 2071 Tower Dr, Glenview, IL 60026 next week or send us a celebratory message via social media.