Hackney's on Lake, the sprawling 700-seat Glenview restaurant that has anchored East Lake Avenue for more than seven decades, is closing its doors for good in early September. The family-owned chain says it will now put its full energy into the smaller Harms Road location just a mile and a half away, ending a run that began when the property was still known as a Prohibition-era tavern.
According to NBC Chicago, Hackney's said the Lake Avenue location will celebrate 71 years of memories over the coming weeks before it shuts down permanently. Management told the outlet that closing the location was not a decision it took lightly, but that a 700-seat restaurant made sense in the 1960s in a way it simply does not in 2026. Diners will still be able to get Hackney's menu favorites, including the Hackneyburger and its signature onion loaf, at the Harms Road spot going forward.
A Building With Roots Predating Hackney's Itself
The Lake Avenue building has a history stretching back further than Hackney's ownership of it. In the 1920s, the site operated as Frank Engels' Restaurant, a tavern known for steak and seafood; Engels was married to Elizabeth Engels, whose sister was Bebe Hackney, according to the Daily Herald. Jim Masterson purchased the building from his parents in 1955, transforming it into Hackney's second Glenview footprint.
The Masterson family's connection to the Hackney name goes back even further. Newlyweds Jim and Kitz Masterson bought the original Harms Road porch stand from Aunt Bebe Hackney for just $1 in 1939, per Only In Your State. Jack and Bebe Hackney had originally sold burgers and beer off their back porch during Prohibition, laying the groundwork for what would become a Chicagoland dining institution.
The Onion Loaf's Accidental Origin
One of Hackney's most recognizable menu items came about almost by accident. The Daily Herald reports that the signature French Fried Onion Loaf was born in the mid-1950s when the kitchen ran out of perch during a busy Friday fish fry, prompting cooks to serve block-formed fried onion rings to keep waiting customers entertained. The brick-shaped onion loaf remains a core attraction at Hackney's locations to this day.
The Harms Road location that will now become the company's sole focus carries its own wartime history. That spot boomed during World War II because it sat directly across from Camp Skokie Valley, a Civilian Conservation Corps facility that was repurposed to house the U.S. Army's 740th Military Police Battalion, according to Stories Through Keepsakes. Off-duty military personnel frequented the porch tavern for refreshments, helping establish the customer base that has kept the Harms Road location running for 87 years.
What Stays the Same at Harms Road
Hackney's on Harms, located at 1241 Harms Rd. in Glenview and open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, is currently undergoing renovations that management says will be complete soon, giving the space a newly refreshed interior. The Hackneyburger itself relies on a proprietary, additive-free blend of fresh ground beef delivered daily by a dedicated local butcher, paired with dark rye bread baked in-house, according to Glenview Patch. That same trademarked dark rye bread has anchored another local tradition: Hackney's has marched in the Glenview Fourth of July Parade since its inception, and since 2010 has tossed 1,500 loaves of the bread to spectators along the route, per Journal & Topics.
Part of a Decades-Long Contraction
The Lake Avenue closure is the latest step in a much longer retreat for the once-sprawling chain. At its peak, Hackney's operated multiple restaurants across the North Shore and Northwest suburbs, but the company has steadily shuttered locations in Wheeling in 2011, Lake Zurich in 2017, and Palos Park in 2019, the Journal & Topics has reported. The pandemic added its own strain: in April 2020, both of Glenview's Hackney's locations were among roughly 25% of the village's 156 local restaurants forced to halt dine-in service entirely, according to the same outlet.
The shift away from massive dining rooms reflects a broader industry reckoning. Classic mid-century 700-seat dining halls have become economically unviable in 2026, as operators consolidate around smaller footprints to manage labor costs and overhead, FOX 32 Chicago reports. High operating expenses tied to maintaining hundreds of largely vacant seats have made the old banquet-style model increasingly impractical.
What Comes Next for the Property
East Lake Avenue has already seen major redevelopment activity nearby. The 19.4-acre former Scott Foresman corporate headquarters at 1900 East Lake Avenue sold for $14 million earlier this year to make way for a 60-home residential subdivision, as Hoodline previously reported. What becomes of the 1514 East Lake Avenue parcel once Hackney's closes remains an open question, with no future plans for the site disclosed. For now, Glenview diners have a few more weeks to visit the Lake Avenue location before Hackney's shifts entirely to its Harms Road roots.
