Lallos Bar and Grill relocates, Lone Star still up in the air

CHANNAHON – One longtime Channahon restaurant is preparing to open next week in a new location. However, another business in Channahon is working out issues to get back up and running.

Lallos Mexican Bar and Grill moved from the old Rittof building on Fryer Street in Channahon, where it has been for nine years, to the plaza just behind Lone Star Restaurant and Lounge.

The restaurant’s lease on Fryer Street expired in November, and Casey and Lallos Gallegos decided it would be more beneficial to find a newer facility than to put money into the old building, Casey Gallegos said.

“The building is 100-and-some years old. It needed a lot of work,” she said.

The Gallegos took two units on Reed Street, knocked down and replaced walls, moved bathrooms, built a bar and remodeled the kitchen. They now have about 600 more square feet.

There also is an outside patio where food can be served. They are hoping to get an outdoor alcohol license in the future.

While the menu will remain the same when they open back for business, hours will be expanded to include daily breakfast starting at 7 a.m. instead of just the weekends.

With final inspections completed this past Monday, Casey Gallegos said, doors are scheduled to open Jan. 18.

Gallegos has no problem moving in just behind Lone Star.

There were limited facilities that met their specific needs, and without a downtown area, Route 6 and Reed Street is a good area to be in, she said.

She’s also confident regular customers will follow them to the new location, particularly those who come for the $1 tacos and chef Lallos Gallegos’ special cream of carrot soup with jalapenos.

Lone Star update

The reopening of the Lone Star Restaurant after a fire severely damaged the Channahon landmark Oct. 7 remains an ongoing issue.

The restaurant sustained at least $1 million of damage to the structure and its contents, Channahon Fire Chief John Petrakis said.

The official cause of the fire is the use of heated elements in proximity of combustible materials, Petrakis said.

The theory of the cause is the use of torches or other heating elements used during roofing repairs being done at the time.

Neither Themis Sparagis nor Theodoros Sparagis – the restaurant’s owners – returned phone calls about where things stood with the remodeling or rebuilding. One family member, who was not identified, said there wasn’t anything to report.

“There’s no news at this point,” she said in a call earlier this week.

Channahon Village Administrator Tom Durkin said there’s a lot of conjecture about what’s going on, but he too is waiting to hear what will happen with the restaurant. There haven’t been any changes or requirements made on the village’s side.

“We haven’t had any sit-down discussions because they are still navigating through their personal issues,” Durkin said.