WEST ROGERS PARK — Max's Italian Beef will close Saturday after a 35-year run on Western Avenue, its owner said.
"Everyone's just been really supportive," Randee Estes, 59, said on Friday. "It's been kinda bittersweet."
Estes and her husband, Larry, 60, opened Max's as a 15-stool restaurant 35 years ago. But as the neighborhood changed and food vendor prices rose, it became more difficult to keep the doors open, Estes said.
"My husband and I have been doing this for 35 years," she said. "The demographics in the area have changed so dramatically."
She also cited the cost of doing business in the City of Chicago. "I can't keep raising my prices on the customer," she said.
On Wednesday night, they sent out an email to patrons and posted to its Facebook page that the restaurant would close.
The reaction has been heartwarming, she said.
Many of Max's followers have declared they'd "come back to get my one last beef" before closing Saturday, she said. "We have such a great following."
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