Crystal Lake Colonial Cafe unexpectedly shuts its doors for good

Crystal Lake residents will have to find someplace else to get their ice cream and burger fix.

Colonial Cafe, 5689 Route 14, closed Monday.

"We are closed. We would like to thank the Crystal Lake community for 33 great years," a sign posted on the restaurant's front entrance read Monday. "We look forward to serving you at other locations."

There only is one other Colonial Cafe in McHenry County – in Algonquin, 2555 Bunker Hill, which opened in 2005. There still are establishments in Aurora, Naperville and two in St. Charles.

Restaurant employees were seen cleaning out the establishment Monday afternoon.

Tom Anderson, former president and director of the company's Scooping Fun division, said all Crystal Lake employees were offered jobs at the other sites.

"We have decided to consolidate in our central market in Kane County," he said, adding that the Crystal Lake location has "not done as well for us as we have hoped."

Anderson said the property is owned by the company and is on the market. He hopes another eatery or retailer moves in soon.

He encouraged readers to visit the other branches and try their new brunch offerings and Sunday specials.

The cafe served breakfast, lunch and dinner, ice cream treats, gluten-free items and beer and wine. It also provided some catering services.

Colonial Cafe moved into the Crystal Lake area in 1985, when the company remodeled a shuttered Golden Bear restaurant at the Crystal Point Mall on Route 14, according to the company's website. In 2011, the cafe was remodeled with a "starkly modern, new concept."