Another longtime Galesburg restaurant has closed.
Grandview Restaurant, 2221 Grand Ave., shut its doors for good Wednesday, Dec. 11 – ending a 73-year run that began in 1952 when Dawn Barlow’s grandmother and great-aunt opened the business.
Barlow, who started working there at age 12 and has owned it since 2000, told WGIL the decision came down to family health concerns and her own retirement.
“After 49 years, I’m free. It’s done,” Barlow said. “We had some family health stuff come up, but I was only a few months from retirement anyway. It’s been a good run – and I’ll miss a lot of the people, probably 95 to 98 percent of them. We’ve served generations of great customers.”
When asked about the challenges of running a restaurant today, Barlow was candid:
“I’m not sure how some of them are still open, to tell you the truth. It’s definitely a different ball game these days, especially the last 10 to 15 years.”
“We tried our dangdest, but we’re just tapped out,” she added. “Staying open just to stay open is not worth anyone’s health.”
Barlow said the building is now for sale.
The closure follows last week’s announcements that two other longtime local eateries are also shutting down: Gray’s Sandwich Shop on North Henderson Street, famous for its tenderloins, after 41 years; and downtown’s Craft on Seminary Street, which posted on Dec. 3 via Facebook, “Craft on Seminary has made the decision to close indefinitely. It wasn’t an easy call, and it comes after a long stretch of challenges that a lot of businesses are feeling right now.”
