Goal Line Sports Bar and Grill opens in downtown Crystal Lake

CRYSTAL LAKE – A newly opened restaurant offering homemade pizza and signature burgers plans to bring a family experience to downtown Crystal Lake.

Without yet an advertising push from the restaurant, customers have welcomed Goal Line Sports Bar and Grill, 85 Brink St., since opening earlier this month, owner Robert Bless said.

The city’s newest downtown restaurant offers a diverse menu, including brick-oven pizza with homemade sauces and doughs, 10-ounce certified black Angus beef burgers, pasta, seafood and south-of-the-border dishes.

“We are trying to make it a family dining experience. Our slogan is, ‘We are not just bar food,’ ” Bless said. “We are trying to offer customers more than just bar food.”

With an eye toward family, Goal Line also offers daily specials along with its kids’ menu. Children also eat free on Sundays when accompanied by an adult, Bless said.

Bless, a Fox River Grove resident and former police officer at the Cook County Sheriff's Office, said he wanted to renew his passion for food when he decided to open Goal Line.

Bless spent time in the restaurant business during the 1980s and early 1990s before his career in law enforcement. He now plans to attend culinary school part time to assist his cooks at Goal Line.

The owner renovated the former Brink Street Bar and Grill with new paint and amenities before opening the downtown restaurant.

That type of investment is why the downtown continues to thrive, said James Richter III, planning and economic development manager for Crystal Lake. The downtown’s vacancy rate is less than five percent, as more than 100 restaurants call the city home.

“Goal Line Sports Bar and Gill is a great addition to downtown Crystal Lake,” Richter said. “Downtown businesses are performing well and occupancy levels are at an all-time high.”

Goal Line operates seven days a week. It is opened from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., except Fridays and Saturdays, when it closes at 2 a.m.