Lucky Bernie's sandwich shop opens in Spring Grove

SPRING GROVE – As Bryan Sterbenz was preparing Lucky Bernie's on Thursday for its grand opening Friday, people lined up at the door trying to get in.

Sterbenz said he and the other managers, William Volkmar and Jeremy Oliphant, and store owner Kathy Leavitt are excited to get the community in the doors to see what they’ve been working on for the past six months.

The upscale sandwich shop, including a bar with wine and beer selections, opened Friday at its Spring Grove location, 2450 Route 12, and the same restaurant is slated to open July 1 at 11605 Catalpa Lane, Woodstock, Sterbenz said.

“It’s been an up-and-down process,” Sterbenz said. “ ... In any process when opening up a business, I think that there’s highs and lows, but I think it will be self-gratifying for all of us when we get these doors open and just see people coming in and enjoying themselves.”

Sterbenz said the Spring Grove restaurant seats about 65, and the Woodstock one about 50. Both will have video gaming, he said.

The space Lucky Bernie’s is filling in Spring Grove has been vacant for a few years, Spring Grove Village President Mark Eisenberg said, and the village is working hard to get some industry back in the area.

“We’re very excited about the restaurant coming to town,” Eisenberg said. “It’s going to be something different.”

Significant work has been done to both locations, and the design features a mosaic floor, waterfalls on the walls, and a penny and quarter bar, Sterbenz said.

“Part of our business concept was to create an atmosphere where almost anyone can enjoy themselves and be comfortable,” Sterbenz said.

Lucky Bernie’s serves about 25 different kinds of wine, 35 kinds of craft beer, 20 types of Boar’s Head meat and 12 kinds of Boar’s Head cheese, Sterbenz said. There’s almost a pound of meat and cheese on each sandwich they make, he said.

The store is named after Leavitt’s husband, Bernie Guthier, who died in January of prostate cancer.

“He was a very giving man,” Sterbenz said. “He was always on a budget, but always the first to give.”

Sterbenz said Leavitt is Oliphant’s aunt, and the rest of the group are friends. Sterbenz and Volkmar are from Ingleside, and Leavitt and Oliphant are from Round Lake Beach.

Being close to home, and seeing a need for a restaurant like this in the community, is what brought them to Spring Grove and Woodstock, Sterbenz said.

The Spring Grove location is open from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Sunday. The Woodstock location will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, and will remain open until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

For information, visit luckybernies.com.