A local dining favorite may soon say goodbye to La Salle, as Haze Smokehouse is being put up for sale.

According to a press release sent on Friday, May 29, by Coldwell Banker, owners Lee and Keegan Pakula are looking to sell the barbecue restaurant in downtown La Salle.

“We want to look ahead to the future to our personal lives and to potentially retiring,” Keegan said. “We just want to start preparing for a future that includes more time as a family.”

The announcement that the restaurant is up for sale does not mean that a closure is imminent.

“They have no plans to stop while the property is on the market,” real estate broker TJ Templeton said in the release. “Haze will remain open while a new owner is sought.”

The potentially lengthy process of finding a buyer is no surprise to the Pakulas, who said they anticipated continuing operations before a transaction is made and that they will stay open for as long as it takes.

“We’re not going anywhere tomorrow,” Keegan said. “We recognized that with a lot of businesses on the market locally, it takes several years to see movement, and we realized that that could be a real possibility for us, so this is us looking ahead and being proactive.”

The Pakula family said that they made the decision to start looking to sell around six months ago after their 11-year stint at 159 Bucklin St.

“We love our customers, we love the community and we love running this business,” Keegan said. “Haze is our second home and we really have built a family there.”

Lee said the decision to enter the restaurant business came after a long career in the auto industry.

“I’ve always enjoyed cooking and smoking meats,” he said. “I really wanted to try my hand at the restaurant business and it’s been quite an experience.”

The Pakulas characterized their time in the business as a success, thanks to the community support and loyalty of their customers.

“The community embraced us so wholeheartedly,” Keegan said. “We saw such tremendous success early on and throughout our time here, and just to watch that all come together has been so exciting.”

While the sale of the smokehouse may be far down the line, the future of Haze beyond the Pakulas’ ownership is unclear.

“Obviously, we’d love to see the tradition of a restaurant being there continue on,” Keegan said. “However, we are open to whatever vision a buyer has for the property.”