Spoke to Robert a few days ago and that is all she wrote.... They are done at Depot.

Perhaps inevitable, but very very sad. I wish them all the luck wherever their next move takes them.

I'm sure that there will be a lot of post-mortems, but it probably comes down to location, location, location.

I was there the first week or so. I used to go a lot. But it got harder over the years to make the drive for lunch.

I will miss the place a lot. If they would open near River North they would become a huge tourist spot.










I'll miss the phone.

What a big bummer. I couldn't figure out why he opened that other place right after that emergency fundraising Save Our Depot stuff. Is the other place still open? Olive and Well or whatever?

olive or Twist, still open but Robert has not been involved for quite some time.

I posted this in opening & closings, the depot's windows are papered over declaring it is under new management and is undergoing remodeling. No mention of an opening date or whether it will be any good.

schenked wrote:I posted this in opening & closings, the depot's windows are papered over declaring it is under new management and is undergoing remodeling. No mention of an opening date or whether it will be any good.

I guess it would be nice of the new management to let folks know if the place is gonna be any good or not along with an opening date. It would help me out a lot.

"Under new management." Hmmm, I wonder if the new management is simply going to ride the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode exposure while keeping everything sub-par? Or, it could be a legit attempt at a return to glory.

Ram4 wrote:"Under new management." Hmmm, I wonder if the new management is simply going to ride the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode exposure while keeping everything sub-par? Or, it could be a legit attempt at a return to glory.

This place has had an up and down history and after I read this news I wondered what the remaining value of the brand actually was. But I think you nailed it. It's all about the DD&D appearance and the fact that the segment gets shown over and over. It won't take long for locals and former regulars to suss out whether the new incarnation is worthy of regular patronage but for out-of-town visitors (and other viewers of DD&D), the very fact that the place is still open may be enough of a draw and thus, enough to perpetuate the place.

=R=

If there's potential it's in the fact that the meat and potatoes menu never really changed much from day one, which likely makes it easier to replicate. Also, the food and service have been sort of erratic all along. I'm not taking one for the team here, but I look forward to the triage.

I had sort of hoped they would reopen at a location with more pedestrian traffic and/or closer in to the loop. Of course the rents would be even higher which compounds the financial woes.

If the DD and D exposure is such a great horse to ride, why couldn't the original owners cash in on the exposure and continue to stay in business? Just asking.

thick wrote:If the DD and D exposure is such a great horse to ride, why couldn't the original owners cash in on the exposure and continue to stay in business? Just asking.

I think it's a great question. I can't help but wonder what potential a new owner sees here because, as you said, the original owners couldn't make it work. The new owner obviously sees some viable opportunity. Maybe they're better capitalized. Maybe they have a different business plan. Maybe they think they can run a tighter (more profitable) ship. In any event, it seems like the goodwill of perpetual national exposure can only help business.

=R=

thick wrote:If the DD and D exposure is such a great horse to ride, why couldn't the original owners cash in on the exposure and continue to stay in business? Just asking.

The area was kind of dingy. I tried to take my wife and she wouldn't get out of the car.
Now to be clear. I undersdtand my wife is... lets say particular

But I can completely see that Oak Park crowd driving by and then keep on going.

[q]I tried to take my wife and she wouldn't get out of the car.[/q]

We're not talking Old Fashioned Donuts here.

Vitesse98 wrote:

I tried to take my wife and she wouldn't get out of the car.

We're not talking Old Fashioned Donuts here.

I am ashamed to admit we did the same thing with Ruby's.

Ram4 wrote:"Under new management." Hmmm, I wonder if the new management is simply going to ride the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode exposure while keeping everything sub-par? Or, it could be a legit attempt at a return to glory.

That's what I was afraid of too. My husband and I finally made the trek over here early this summer and I was looking forward to returning in winter for some cold weather comfort food. I hope the quality for new management is just as stellar. If not, it will just be another random diner with sub-par food.

thick wrote:If the DD and D exposure is such a great horse to ride, why couldn't the original owners cash in on the exposure and continue to stay in business? Just asking.

I didn't know too much about DD just from what I read in this thread some time ago, but, from my perception (and mine only) it didn't seem like management had a hand in managing well. If new management can better manage and still keep the quality, I think it has a chance.

zoid wrote:
The area was kind of dingy. I tried to take my wife and she wouldn't get out of the car.
Now to be clear. I undersdtand my wife is... lets say particular

But I can completely see that Oak Park crowd driving by and then keep on going.

I have never had any issues ever in that part of town and I frequent the area quite a bit. I wouldn't even call it dingy. Not even close to being rough and tumble either. I have been to far worse parts of the city and still survived and never had qualms about going there or doing so and I don't think the area along Roosevelt and Austin is that of much a factor either.

KajmacJohnson wrote:I have never had any issues ever in that part of town and I frequent the area quite a bit. I wouldn't even call it dingy. Not even close to being rough and tumble either. I have been to far worse parts of the city and still survived and never had qualms about going there or doing so and I don't think the area along Roosevelt and Austin is that of much a factor either.

Hey, I agree with you. However my wife is not of the same opinion.

zoid wrote:

KajmacJohnson wrote:I have never had any issues ever in that part of town and I frequent the area quite a bit. I wouldn't even call it dingy. Not even close to being rough and tumble either. I have been to far worse parts of the city and still survived and never had qualms about going there or doing so and I don't think the area along Roosevelt and Austin is that of much a factor either.

Hey, I agree with you. However my wife is not of the same opinion.

I totally get it. I guess my husband likes living dangerously because he never has a problem.

zoid wrote:

thick wrote:If the DD and D exposure is such a great horse to ride, why couldn't the original owners cash in on the exposure and continue to stay in business? Just asking.

The area was kind of dingy. I tried to take my wife and she wouldn't get out of the car.
Now to be clear. I undersdtand my wife is... lets say particular

But I can completely see that Oak Park crowd driving by and then keep on going.

I guess that means a trip for Cemitas with the wife is out of the question.

thetrob wrote:

zoid wrote:

thick wrote:If the DD and D exposure is such a great horse to ride, why couldn't the original owners cash in on the exposure and continue to stay in business? Just asking.

The area was kind of dingy. I tried to take my wife and she wouldn't get out of the car.
Now to be clear. I undersdtand my wife is... lets say particular

But I can completely see that Oak Park crowd driving by and then keep on going.

I guess that means a trip for Cemitas with the wife is out of the question.

Pretty much, that's why I usually take my daughter the first time to a new place and if it gets her seal of approval the wife will usually be willing to take the risk

Looking at the pics in this thread makes me incredibly sad that they've closed. Sigh.

thetrob wrote:

zoid wrote:

thick wrote:If the DD and D exposure is such a great horse to ride, why couldn't the original owners cash in on the exposure and continue to stay in business? Just asking.

The area was kind of dingy. I tried to take my wife and she wouldn't get out of the car.
Now to be clear. I undersdtand my wife is... lets say particular

But I can completely see that Oak Park crowd driving by and then keep on going.

I guess that means a trip for Cemitas with the wife is out of the question.

Take her to Jimmy's for a hotdog. ASAIAC, if they just keep to their posted hours like any other good business, I would patronize them. Too many times I made the drive to DD only to find they had closed early, etc. And I don't mean 15 minutes, but a couple of hours.

Wow, I had no clue Depot finally closed for good. It's a shame to hear that, since I liked the food the one time I did visit here. And to think I considered eating here again a few weeks ago, when I thought I'd end up in this area again(but didn't, in the end). Had no clue they did briefly shut down for a few weeks back in March/April, since I haven't had time to log into LTH in forever.

I hope the new owners keep the very delicious donut holes I recall having here(my fav thing I had eating here), and keep the pot roast recipe the way I remember it as well.

dumpstermcnuggets wrote:Wow, I had no clue Depot finally closed for good. It's a shame to hear that, since I liked the food the one time I did visit here. And to think I considered eating here again a few weeks ago, when I thought I'd end up in this area again. Had no clue they did briefly shut down for a few weeks back in March/April, since I haven't had time to log into LTH in forever.

I hope the new owners keep the very delicious donut holes I recall having here(my fav thing I had eating here), and keep the pot roast recipe the way I remember it as well.

I would kill for that pot roast recipe.
Mine is good but I can't replicate that Depot Diner gravy.

zoid wrote:I would kill for that pot roast recipe.
Mine is good but I can't replicate that Depot Diner gravy.

Who dies?
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pot- ... index.html

Eric wrote:

zoid wrote:I would kill for that pot roast recipe.
Mine is good but I can't replicate that Depot Diner gravy.

Who dies?
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pot- ... index.html

Yeah but they left out the most important part. The only mention of the gravy is "Ladle 3 ounces of brown gravy over the pot roast and French fries"

zoid,

How were you on replicating those fried onions?

Did you try making the gravy from the pan juices? It would not surprise me if they were fortified with beef base, too.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:zoid,

How were you on replicating those fried onions?

Did you try making the gravy from the pan juices? It would not surprise me if they were fortified with beef base, too.

Regards,

Never got around to trying the onions. I make gravy from the pan juices but it's just not the same as the Depot. I think you're right about the beef base but I need to find one that's not too salty. I'm almost thinking of getting some demi glace and trying that along with some beef base.