Fundraiser to benefit Algonquin Sub Shop repairs after fire

ALGONQUIN – The Golf Club of
Illinois will host a fundraiser dinner to offset the Algonquin Sub Shop's costs to repair the building after a recent fire.

Algonquin Sub Shop owner John Ryals said he was honored to hear another business wanted to help raise money for repairs when Tim and Tom Schneider from the Golf Club reached out to him.

“I was thrilled to death and humbled by the response I’ve had from everyone in the community,” Ryals said. “I know we’ve been here a long time, but I guess we’ve made a few friends over the years and the Golf Club is certainly one of them.”

The event will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Golf Club of Illinois, 1575 Edgewood Drive, Algonquin.

A spaghetti dinner will be served for $10 an adult and $5 a child with a spaghetti and meatball dinner, Caesar salad and garlic bread made by Chef Mathew Toepfer. Food will be donated from Sysco Food, and volunteers and staff from the sub shop will serve the food, Ryals said.

Ryals said he was trying to thaw frozen water pipes by heating up the crawl space of the popular sandwich shop with a propane heating device Jan. 2 when the siding caught on fire.

Repairs are expected to cost $20,000 and the insurance company has given quotes. The shop has been open for more than 15 years, Ryals said.

“When we went to pressure test the gas lines, we found that the lines were so old that we have to replumb the whole building, which isn’t covered by insurance,” Ryals said.

Ryals said he hopes to have the shop open again starting the week of Jan. 22, but the opening date depends on how construction goes.

There’s a 10-foot-by-10-foot hole in the south side of the building that needs to be repaired.

The inside of the shop has smoke damage, and Ryals has hired a restoration company to clean and ionize the building. All food items, boxed items and anything exposed had to be cleared, so the store must be restocked from the ground up, Ryals said.

“Let’s do this right and start again with fresh gas lines and get a new flattop grill,” Ryals said. “We are trying to do some remodeling in the dining room, and hopefully it’ll open looking fresh and clean and better than ever.”

To RSVP for the event, call Golf Club of Illinois at 847-658-4400 or call the Algonquin Sub Shop at 847-658-0680. Checks also can be sent on behalf of the Algonquin Sub Shop to the Golf Club of Illinois.

"On behalf of Golf Club of Illinois, let's help make sure that Algonquin Sub Shop remains a fixture in this community for years to come," Toepfer wrote on Facebook.