Ann Sather, a longtime restaurant on Belmont Avenue in Lakeview, will close its current location this summer as the building is set to be demolished for a new apartment development, owner Tom Tunney said on Mar. 24.
The closure marks the end of an era for the well-known eatery that has served customers for more than eight decades. However, Tunney said he plans to relocate Ann Sather within the Lakeview neighborhood but has not yet determined a new address.
“Outside of closing sometime this summer, we don’t have any definitive plans until we sign a lease,” Tunney said.
The move comes as Mavrek Development proceeds with plans to build a five-story apartment complex at 925 W. Belmont Ave., which will include demolishing both Ann Sather’s building at 909 W. Belmont Ave. and the former home of Belmont Army Vintage. The initial proposal called for an eleven-story structure with over two hundred apartments and ten thousand square feet of retail space stretching from Ann Sather’s eastern edge to Belmont Army Vintage on the west. After community criticism, developers reduced the size of the project; current plans are for forty-six units and fifty-three hundred square feet of retail space—about half what was first proposed—and no zoning change is required.
Although earlier versions would have spared Ann Sather’s building from demolition while removing only Belmont Army Vintage’s former home, updated construction phases now include tearing down both properties according to Tunney and Mavrek Development representatives. A representative from Mavrek was not immediately available for further comment about these changes.
Ann Sather originally opened at 929 W. Belmont Ave. in 1945 before moving next door in 2007; it currently operates additional locations at North Broadway and West Granville Avenue according to its website.
