ELBURN – The Fishermen's Inn has raised its glass for the last time.
Earlier this week, the Inn quietly closed its doors, with only a small sign on the door informing visitors that the facility would no longer be available for a banquet or weekend dinner out.
Cliff Spence, president of the Fishermen's Inn, said the business officially closed Monday, Dec. 21.
He said the business, which was owned by a trust overseen by Old Second Bank, was ordered by the bank into receivership, which is a form of bankruptcy.
"I'm sure that the bank was looking at long term projections when they made this decision," Spence said, "and they decided that this just wasn't a viable option for them any more."
Fishermen's Inn opened in 1964 in a renovated barn on the site at the corner of Main Street Road and Route 47 in Blackberry Township. It was purchased by Ralph Schleifer in 1973.
Fire destroyed the original barn in 1985, but a new barn was built in its place and the restaurant and hall reopened in 1986.
Schleifer died in 2005, and the business passed into ownership by a trust.
The business grew through the decades into a popular spot for weddings and other banquets, thanks to its location situated on a country hillside with views of the property's stocked fish ponds.
However, the economic turmoil of recent months proved too great for the business to absorb any longer, Spence said.
"The food industry has been competing violently against one another since this recession began," Spence said. "And there just wasn't enough business to go around for us any more it seems."
The Fishermen's Inn employed about 50 workers at the time it closed, down from a peak of 70, Spence said. Most of the workers were part-time employees, but some had been with the company for a decade or more, he said.
Spence had been employed at the Inn for 11 years.
Spence said he did not know if there were any plans for the property, but he noted that the land "has been for sale for quite a while."
"There is a new era coming for the restaurant business, I know, but it's still several years out," Spence said. "And, unfortunately, we will not be a part of that."
