Unless the entire strip center is in the foreclosure, there is no reason for a bank to offer a 50% increase on a lease. A landlord, perhaps, but that too seems highly suspect in a market such as this. No property owner would make such a demand of one of their tenants knowing full well that they would vacate. I feel as though there's more to the story then Patty mentioned, which is fine.

Either way, I'm sad to see it go. I'm a semi-regular visitor with my grandmother.

Ram4 wrote:This is horrible news! I too just tried Patty's last month. When I went back 2 weeks later with my girlfriend, Patty not only remembered us, but remembered we were from Highland Park!

Sue proudly showed us The Reader article and told us that someone from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives had recently called them too. It sounded like they were finally going to get national exposure which actually concerned me because it might get too crowded in there. There must be a way out of this for them. Maybe leaving this location will be a blessing in disguise? Maybe they'll find a much better location? I sure hope so. This was going to be my go-to place for breakfast for sure.

I hope this is a blessing in disguise. A new location in a market looking for renters shouldn't be hard to find and will provide more visibility to this gem. I've driven by Patty's for years and never even knew it was there, despite visiting Dengeo's down the street all the time.

Even when looking for it specifically for my first visit, i drove by it twice! In short, i'm hoping that a new location is in the works and that this will lead to more exposure and more business.

it's very last minute, but i'm thinking of going to patty's for lunch today. i'm flexible on the time. is there anyone out there who might want to join me?? i figure they could use all the last minute business they can get. justjoan

Ghazi wrote:

Ram4 wrote:This is horrible news! I too just tried Patty's last month. When I went back 2 weeks later with my girlfriend, Patty not only remembered us, but remembered we were from Highland Park!

Sue proudly showed us The Reader article and told us that someone from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives had recently called them too. It sounded like they were finally going to get national exposure which actually concerned me because it might get too crowded in there. There must be a way out of this for them. Maybe leaving this location will be a blessing in disguise? Maybe they'll find a much better location? I sure hope so. This was going to be my go-to place for breakfast for sure.

I hope this is a blessing in disguise. A new location in a market looking for renters shouldn't be hard to find and will provide more visibility to this gem. I've driven by Patty's for years and never even knew it was there, despite visiting Dengeo's down the street all the time.

Even when looking for it specifically for my first visit, i drove by it twice! In short, i'm hoping that a new location is in the works and that this will lead to more exposure and more business.

When I heard her mention the TV show had called her, Suzy said she didn't know what Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives was. I told her to expect things to change quite a bit if they ever did a show for them. Skokie is certainly wide open as far as vacancies go, but I don't know all the details behind this possible closing, so I can't specualte on what's next.

Ghazi wrote:

Ram4 wrote:This is horrible news! I too just tried Patty's last month. When I went back 2 weeks later with my girlfriend, Patty not only remembered us, but remembered we were from Highland Park!

Sue proudly showed us The Reader article and told us that someone from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives had recently called them too. It sounded like they were finally going to get national exposure which actually concerned me because it might get too crowded in there. There must be a way out of this for them. Maybe leaving this location will be a blessing in disguise? Maybe they'll find a much better location? I sure hope so. This was going to be my go-to place for breakfast for sure.

I hope this is a blessing in disguise. A new location in a market looking for renters shouldn't be hard to find and will provide more visibility to this gem. I've driven by Patty's for years and never even knew it was there, despite visiting Dengeo's down the street all the time.

Even when looking for it specifically for my first visit, i drove by it twice! In short, i'm hoping that a new location is in the works and that this will lead to more exposure and more business.

I grew up in the area and I've been eating there for years. I never understood why they took down the Morry's sign. It was a classic.

I just came from there and I feel pretty stuffed although I only had old potatoes, 2 eggs, and toast. I was at the point where I wasn't sure if I could live with myself if I left without corned beef hash, but wasn't sure if I could walk out if I stayed. I reluctantly left without, but I plan to return on Tuesday. Susie figured I was from LTH and thanked us all for being such big supporters, and hinted that Patty will probably relocate after she "gets a rest after 20 years". I hope both of those things are true, but selfishly I hope the rest is short and the new location is, preferably, next door to work.

Watching Patty churn out three meals in 5 minutes was so entertaining. The old potatoes were quite good, and until today I never knew the pleasures of "soppy". Why did I leave without hash!?

Was the last customer around for lunch today - burger medium, cheddar, old fries. Took a seat right in front of the grill and watched Patty do her work. Watching her delicately throw butter into the fire around the burger to get it to fire up was a thing of pure beauty. Can't even begin to explain how happy the bun made me (I have a weird fetish for good bread I guess). Between the atmosphere and hand shaped patty (no pun intended), I would call this the best burger I've had in Chicago. Finishing my burger my only regret was that I should of asked for a fried egg on top and possibly a dollop of gravy on the potatoes.

My regrets were quickly turned to the promise of another meal there sometime this month (for some reason I thought they were closing on the 6th, not sure where I got that from) and they told me they'd be open for the whole month of May. The waitress (didn't get her name) said something along the lines of they didn't know how it was going to play out and if the sheriff's office will be involved. Supposedly, the two owners of the building are going through a divorce, the banks have stepped in to divide the assets, etc. etc. Patty did exclaim that "they would advertise what was going on as soon as they knew".

A true gem of a place and the greatest example of why the GNR's exist and the greatness of this community.

I rallied some friends for an early breakfast (for us) last Saturday. Always good to see GWiv, who was sitting at the counter. We took a table and decided to start out with an order of biscuits and gravy. My friends were surprised at the brown gravy, but we all loved it. The biscuits were heavenly. Much better than the biscuits I recently had at the Depot. I love the ham at Patty's and had never had the ham hash, so that was my order. Another friend had the corned beef hash. I think we had the benefit of our orders mixing at the edges because I had a few delightful bites of corned beef and ham hash. I plan to visit again and hope that Pizano's report of a new location becomes reality. Going to Patty's is like going home.

Noticed in the YumBus thread that they closed. Place doesn't look very big from the outside. I wonder; do you think a diner could fit in there? Hmmmmm.

jaybo wrote:Noticed in the YumBus thread that they closed. Place doesn't look very big from the outside. I wonder; do you think a diner could fit in there? Hmmmmm.

"You betcha" - S. Palin -

Back in the late 60s or early 70s that spot was the Noshery.

It would fit, but there would only be about 1/3 of the seating. The old Yumbus spot would be better for a coffee shop/bakery kind of place.
I miss Patty's already. I'm going back next week for hash & biscuits and more of those eggs. Who knew fried eggs could taste so good?

Patty's will certainly be missed. One of my favorite warm weather activities was getting up early on a weekend morning, hopping on my bike and riding from Lincoln Park to Skokie where I would refuel with one of Patty's wonderful breakfasts for the ride home.

There are no diners like Patty's where I live now.

this is horriible, this is my go to breakfast place. I was just there on sunday.

Phew! I knew there was no way I was going to make it in by Friday - but before June, that I can do!

LTH,

Conversing with Patty between bites of med-rare patty melt with a sunny side up egg Patty said the diner will stay open until June 6th.

Great news, an additional month to enjoy Ham Hash, Old Potatoes, Char Grilled Burgers and silky smooth scrambled eggs.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Conversing with Patty between bites of med-rare patty melt with a sunny side up egg Patty said the diner will stay open until June 6th.

Patty's Diner Patty Melt w/fries and fried egg option



Drifting between Rare and Med-rare. In other words, perfect



Runny egg, rare burger and Tapatio green habanero, oh yeah!



Enjoy,
Gary

Took the family and a fried to Patty's last Saturday for a great meal. At the time, I was thinking it might be the last one but knowing that they will be open until early June, I'm sure I'll get back there again before the end . . .


Son, tackling the sausage, egg and cheese breakfast roll



Chili-Cheese Omelette with "old " potatoes for me
Best version north of Camellia Grill.

=R=

Had I known what I was missing before today, I'd have ventured to my dreaded suburbs sooner. Well worth the effort. Damn good.

Gary,
That is a heck of a good lookin burger. The fries aren't too shabby either. I had never thought of Patty's as a good burger option. I have always thought of it as a breakfast place and just stuck to eggs and potatoes in various formats. In fact, the only times I have had lunch there were on a couple of roast turkey special days (wednesday, I believe). I will have to make a point of trying a Patty's patty in the upcoming weeks (as well as enjoy one last turkey special), but then I will just have another reason to miss the joint when it closes. Hopefully, it will reincarnate itself into a better body (the layout was a little odd), but I would miss out on the diner theater one can enjoy while sitting at the initimate counter across from the grill and prep area.

Dave

I was there this morning and patty's sister said that they were looking at a few properties and might reopen. I hope that that was't just wishful thinking

it may help for people to tell her that they would follow her, if anybody is around and plans to eat there before it closes, you might want to mention that you would follow them to a new location.

Made it to Patty's Diner for a late breakfast/early lunch on Saturday. I had a delicious medium cheeseburger with some great, hot, crispy fries. The fries were seriously some of the best I have had in a long time. The burger was cooked to temperature and had just the right amount of char on the outside. The burger bun was soft and yeasty and complimented the meat perfectly.

Watching Patty work that grill I wanted to shout "You go girl!" There are not too many female grill masters out there. Patty really has it down and the look of concentration on her face as she handles multiple orders (and makes hand-formed burgers) was priceless. Our waitress was great (I think it was Susie). She made sure we had everything we needed and even took the time to hunt down a straw for me despite the fact that the place was hopping.

I really hope this restaurant reopens.

d4v3 wrote:Gary,
That is a heck of a good lookin burger. The fries aren't too shabby either. I had never thought of Patty's as a good burger option. I have always thought of it as a breakfast place and just stuck to eggs and potatoes in various formats. In fact, the only times I have had lunch there were on a couple of roast turkey special days (wednesday, I believe). I will have to make a point of trying a Patty's patty in the upcoming weeks (as well as enjoy one last turkey special), but then I will just have another reason to miss the joint when it closes. Hopefully, it will reincarnate itself into a better body (the layout was a little odd), but I would miss out on the diner theater one can enjoy while sitting at the initimate counter across from the grill and prep area.

Dave

The burgers are stellar- easily one of the best in Chicagoland. It's just an excellent, unpretentious hunk of meat cooked perfectly on a homemade bun that is about as light as a bun can be. The taste of the beef is so perfect that I only top it with mayo and onions.

The patty is next on my to-do list.

I was back at Patty's on May 2nd. I had eggs, bacon and old potatoes, my brother had ham hash and my friend had a cheeseburger. Everything was great, as usual. Susie still remembered us (even though we'd been there only twice!). If it weren't for this board, I never would have known about it... thanks again guys.

It's such a shame this place is where it is. Oak Park is perfectly positioned for a quick trip to just about any neighborhood or village - save Skokie/Evanston. I wish I could justify the hour it would take me to get there, since the pictures people have posted look awesome.

Oh, well. At least I always have the Depot 10 minutes away.

BEHOLD THE CHAR:

Vitesse98 wrote:It's such a shame this place is where it is. Oak Park is perfectly positioned for a quick trip to just about any neighborhood or village - save Skokie/Evanston. I wish I could justify the hour it would take me to get there, since the pictures people have posted look awesome.

Oh, well. At least I always have the Depot 10 minutes away.

I live in Skokie and work in River Grove and it only takes me 30 minutes to commute, driving down River Road (where you can drive over 50 mph for several miles). Adding the distance to Pattys from my house i'd imagine it would take you 40 minutes. But you could make a day out of it and then head to Evanston and the lake, etc.

Ghazi wrote:

Vitesse98 wrote:It's such a shame this place is where it is. Oak Park is perfectly positioned for a quick trip to just about any neighborhood or village - save Skokie/Evanston. I wish I could justify the hour it would take me to get there, since the pictures people have posted look awesome.

Oh, well. At least I always have the Depot 10 minutes away.

I live in Skokie and work in River Grove and it only takes me 30 minutes to commute, driving down River Road (where you can drive over 50 mph for several miles). Adding the distance to Pattys from my house i'd imagine it would take you 40 minutes. But you could make a day out of it and then head to Evanston and the lake, etc.

Well, from where I live in Oak Park it takes 15 minutes to get to River Grove/River Road, so you're still looking at an hour. I've had a similar view here, in that I like Oak Park as a location from which I can travel most places without an excessive travel time, but Skokie and Evanston are far enough that they'd only be worthwhile for me if I was making a day of it.

you could head north to 94 and take it west then get off at touhy

you could head north to 94 and take it west then get off at touhy

Well, I know how to get there! But I've made that trip, and it takes a long time. Hour sounds about right. So that's an hour to get there, an hour-plus to eat, and over an hour to get back (keeping in mind that traffic gets worse the later it gets). Nice part of Chicagoland, but highway access is not a prime selling point, and alas not worth making a day trip out of (for me) given all that's here and in between here and there.

Vitesse98 wrote:

you could head north to 94 and take it west then get off at touhy

Well, I know how to get there! But I've made that trip, and it takes a long time. Hour sounds about right. So that's an hour to get there, an hour-plus to eat, and over an hour to get back (keeping in mind that traffic gets worse the later it gets). Nice part of Chicagoland, but highway access is not a prime selling point, and alas not worth making a day trip out of (for me) given all that's here and in between here and there.

on a saturday during light traffic im thinking 40 minutes tops if you take the highway