Owners Keith and Laurie Loukinen have announced that Loukinens' on 4th will “temporarily close until further notice.” The restaurant at 517 S. Fourth St., across from the Executive Mansion, opened in 2017 and featured “casual, upscale dining” using local, seasonal ingredients.
According to Sangamon County tax records, the property was purchased in February 2017 for $150,000 by KALL Restaurants, an LLC controlled by the couple.
Prior
to that, Augie Mrozowski operated it as August Restaurant, along with Augie’s
Front Burner downtown.
On
Dec. 8, the Chicago-based law firm of Noonan & Lieberman, Ltd. filed for
foreclosure against the property on behalf of Community Loan Servicing. Neither
the LLC nor its owners have filed a response to the complaint yet, according to
Sangamon County records.
On Jan.
12, Loukinens’ posted on its Facebook page that it would no longer serve
alcohol but invited customers to bring their own. Subsequent posts thanked the community “for
your continued support while we resolve our current situation” and assured
patrons the restaurant was still open “as we navigate through a difficult
moment in time for our business.”
However,
an announcement posted on the business Facebook page Feb. 13 read: “Due to unforeseen
circumstances beyond our control and after nearly seven years of serving our
community with love and care, we are sad to announce that Loukinens’ on 4th
will temporarily close until further notice. We sincerely apologize to our
patrons who have reservations and events booked with us. We look forward to
serving you again very soon.”
Keith
and Laurie Loukinen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.