Ann Sather’s Belmont Avenue flagship is preparing to exit its longtime Lakeview home later this summer, with the restaurant planning a move in June or July while staff hunts for a new neighborhood address.
A representative for the restaurant at 909 W. Belmont Ave. confirmed the pending move but said no final closing date has been set and that the team is still choosing a replacement spot in Lakeview, according to CBS Chicago. The spokesperson also declined to say what will happen to the building the restaurant currently occupies.
Construction Crunch Remakes the Belmont Block
Next door, developers have been reshaping a stretch of Belmont with a new mixed-use building that replaced a low brick structure and pushed several small businesses to close or relocate. The project was dramatically cut down from an earlier 11-story, 210-unit proposal to a five-story plan with roughly 46 apartments in order to speed construction and avoid additional approvals, as covered by The Real Deal. That downsizing left the Ann Sather space on Belmont intact even as neighboring storefronts packed up.
A Lakeview Fixture Since the 1940s
Ann Sather first opened a small Swedish diner on Belmont Avenue in 1945, according to The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. The restaurant was sold to Tom Tunney in 1981 and later moved to its current 909 W. Belmont location, per the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. Its menu, especially the cinnamon rolls and Swedish pancakes, helped cement Ann Sather as a neighborhood institution and a weekend habit.
The restaurant told CBS Chicago it is actively searching for a new Lakeview address and expects to be settled before the end of the summer. For Belmont regulars, the move marks the end of a long-running chapter on a block already reshaped by redevelopment and a steady churn of storefronts.
