CRYSTAL LAKE – After less than a year in business, Greek's Pizzeria appears to have closed up shop in Crystal Lake.

A "for lease" signs hangs in the windows of the pizza place at 6000 Route 14 near Best Buy. A Facebook page for the restaurant has been taken down and the phone number listed for it is disconnected. It's Twitter account also has been removed.

When Archie Soulidis opened the franchise in mid-February 2014 he called it "a dream come true." Soulidis’ location was the first Greek’s Pizzeria to open outside of Indiana. The restaurant started in 1969 and was franchised in the 1990s. There are more than a dozen locations in Indiana, according to the company's website.

By late fall, the restaurant was open fewer hours and eventually went dark completely before the "for lease" signs went up. The last post on the restaurant's Facebook page was Oct. 18.

Soulidis couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

The Crystal Lake City Council approved a $10,000 grant to help launch the pizza place in the Crystal Point Shopping Center, but "the grant money was never distributed because [Greek's Pizzeria] didn’t provide the required paperwork and submittals," said Michelle Rentzsch, the city's community development director.

Soulidis told the Northwest Herald in late 2013 that he had spent about $31,300 on furniture and equipment to improve the 2,432-square-foot space and would hire four full-time employees and seven part-time workers for the restaurant.

Community Development Director

Before Greek's Pizzeria, the space was occupied by Wild Orchid Thai Bistro.