JOLIET – McBrody’s, a downtown Joliet dining fixture for the past 11 years, has closed its doors.

“It’s something we’ve been thinking about back and forth for some time now,” said Peg O’Connell, who ran the popular tavern with her husband, Jim. “We finally looked at our family and knew we had to go in a new direction.”

McBrody’s, 73 W. Jefferson St., officially closed on Wednesday. The tavern – located downtown near the courthouse, banks and City Hall – did a brisk lunch business, but pulling in customers in the evening could be a challenge, O’Connell said.

“It was a very hard decision,” O’Connell said. “We believed in the downtown and I don’t regret a thing. I know we fought our butts off to make it work. We gave it a good run and have no regrets.”

The O’Connells and Derek and Hallie Brenczewski opened the restaurant in spring 2003 in the building formerly occupied by Central Bar & Grill.

The two men were high school friends who both worked as general managers of Joliet restaurants. Brenczewski managed the former Tuckaway Tavern off Plainfield Road in unincorporated Will County, and O’Connell managed Aurelio’s Pizza, now Cemeno’s, off Essington Road.

The families came up with the name McBrody’s by combining the names of their sons: Malachy O’Connell and Brody Brenczewski.

The restaurant featured specialty sandwiches, burgers, soups and salads.

The O’Connells took over as sole owners, with a silent partner, in 2007, O’Connell said.

O’Connell was grateful for all the support shown by the downtown business crowd, as well as by patrons from other communities and her staff.

“We loved the place,” O’Connell said. “We put our hearts and souls into that place. We went as far as we could.”

McBrody’s is the third downtown restaurant to close this year. The Department, 205 N. Chicago St., closed in March, and The Red Goose Bakery & Cafe, 56 N. Chicago St., closed at the end of July.

A new restaurant, Juliet’s, plans to open in the building that housed The Department in October. Another restaurant, The Blue Taco, 79 N. Chicago St., opened earlier this year.