Granite City Closure Displaces Many
By Andrew Greenway, 11/8/19 (Header image by GLars on TripAdvisor)
On Monday, October 28th, Granite City Food and Brewery’s East Peoria location shut its doors for the last time. According to a public statement from the corporation’s HRIS & Compensation Manager Nicole Langeland, “The decision to close Granite City was made due to the financial state of the location. Unfortunately, the location could no longer sustain operations in such a difficult business environment.”
This news came with little notice, leaving dozens of displaced workers unprepared to find replacement work. Some of the affected employees had worked there since its opening over 15 years ago when it was established in October 2006. According to Phil Luciano of the Peoria Journal Star, the East Peoria location was an especially historic one for the chain being their 17th restaurant and the first in Illinois.
On the exterior, a closing business is an unfortunate result of an economic downturn. However, for those employed at Granite City, this sudden event has led to the shattering of a family.
Darby Hallman has an extensive history with Illinois Central College. She’s been attending ICC since the fall of 2015 but has remained steadfast on her goal of graduating and furthering her studies in Marine Conservation. Unfortunately, last Monday she lost her job.
Starting in October 2017 as a host, Darby had been passionately working at Granite City in a variety of roles. Since starting, she has worked as an expediter, a server, and a member of the marketing team. She has even worked as a trainer all within her short tenure. While working in the service industry can be taxing, Darby found working with the staff and customers of Granite City be one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.
“I had a family of coworkers, I learned so much from them. We had a group chat with like 50 of us, managers, the GM, they were my family.” Darby was among the staff members that attended the last meeting held on the now-defunct Granite City grounds. She was called late Sunday evening to be told she and her coworkers were being pulled into an emergency meeting at 9 AM the next morning.
“No one knew that it was going to close.”
By the end of the meeting, they were unemployed. An email sent later that day confirmed the decision stating, “As was announced at a meeting at your Granite City Food and Brewery restaurant location this morning, we regret to inform you that we have ceased operations at the Granite City Food & Brewery in East Peoria, IL. The last day of operation was October 27th. Please know that this was a very difficult decision for the company to make.”
While the former employees of the brewery may have been blindsided by the news, they were resolute in their convictions to each other. Darby hugged everyone there, even the people she didn’t know that well. The emotional weight of the decision may have hung heavy on the team but, despite this, everyone was united and celebrated their time together. Needless to say, the team embodied the Granite City cause: “to build and foster a community of beer fans for life.”
By 11 AM, the Facebook page Darby once moderated was now gone and their location had been removed from the Granite City website.
By noon, the employees began to address the community. Those that visited Granite City the day of its closure were greeted by the following signs:
“To the community of East Peoria and our valued guests. It comes with the deepest regrets to inform you that after 12 years of serving you fresh beer from our brewery and food from our scratch kitchens, we have to permanently close our doors at this location.
We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for the loyalty and support you have shown us over the years. We wish you and the community all the best.”
When approached by a reporter for the Journal Star, the general manager could not comment on the permanence of the closure, referring them to the Minnesota corporate office. They declined to comment.
Although the upscale family-style restaurant and brewery are now gone, the story surrounding its closure continues to draw speculation from the community.
When asked about the statement regarding its closure, Darby’s account helped shed some light on the state of affairs leading up to the closure.
In the meeting, the staff was told the closure had been due to costly property taxes. However, she reports two new staff members, a dishwasher and a server, being hired within the last month of operation. Additionally, they recently added vegan and gluten-free menu options and were still receiving party bookings for Thanksgiving, even in its final days.
In response to this speculation, I reached out to Ty Livingston, Director of Planning & Community Development for the City of East Peoria to gain some additional insight into the state of small-medium sized businesses in East Peoria.
What is the current financial state of the city of East Peoria?
Our financial status is strong but not unlike other municipalities, we are always seeking opportunities to shift the burden away from property taxes to other sources like sales tax.
How would you describe the city, in terms of friendliness towards small-medium sized businesses?
As a community, we work hard to be business-friendly. Small and medium-sized businesses are a vital part of the region’s economy.
Were there any recent changes in local taxes on businesses?
Not that I’m aware. The city does not have a separate restaurant tax.
To the best of your knowledge, what was the financial state of Granite City before its closure? If you were to speculate, what factors may have contributed to its closure, such as location, clientele, atmosphere, etc..?
I believe the location is one of the best in the area given its placement on the Riverfront and proximity to the Levee District, our hotels, and the Warehouse District. However, I’m not aware of the factors that were involved in the decision. In the end, it appears it made sense for them to close the East Peoria location as well as 3 others in the chain.
Have there been any events recently that may have had an effect on the state of a business situated there, positively or negatively?
In general, the restaurant landscape is evolving just as in retail. Tastes change, as do eating habits. Fast/casual restaurants that were very popular 20 years ago are now having to get into more carry-out and delivery options in order to maintain their market share, if possible.
While Livingston is sympathetic, he is hopeful for the recently unemployed.
“To their benefit, the labor market is very tight at the moment. As I understand it, a number of the employees displaced by this closure have already been in touch with other hospitality opportunities for employment here in the area.”
The sentiment of hope can be felt throughout the East Peoria community. When asked to comment on the Granite City situation, Executive Director of the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce Rick Swan says while the closure was unexpected, he remains hopeful that a new business will take its place.
While the transition was stressful, Darby and her coworkers have already begun to recover. Within the week, she was applying to jobs at other restaurants in the area and was hired at Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano on West Lake Avenue.
According to market summaries, on the day of East Peoria’s closure, stocks in Granite City were at $0.19. A far cry from its peak of this year on June 7th where its stocks were at $0.55 yet not its lowest point of the year.
When asked to comment on the community concerns for the closure of the location and its employees’ future, no comment was made from the corporate offices.
To learn more about the other Granite City closures or the future of the company, please refer to our sources listed below or visit their website.
Sources
- Granite City corporate website
- PJ Star, Granite City Food and Brewery in East Peoria shuts down
- Week 25 News, Granite City in East Peoria shuts down