RIVER NORTH — Ed Debevic's, the retro diner that helped make River North a Downtown destination, will soon be just a memory.
Demolition crews Thursday morning started tearing down the restaurant at 640 N. Wells St. The site, once cleared, will make way for a new, 22-story apartment tower.
Known its milkshakes and sassy servers, Debevic's opened in 1984, back when River North was better known for art galleries than nightlife. The diner with the motto "Eat — And Get Out!" closed in October after its owner, Jeffrey Himmel of Bravo Restaurants Inc., agreed to sell the site to Chicago-based JDL Development.
Himmel, who did not immediately return a message, plans to open another Ed Debevic's somewhere else Downtown, but has yet to announce a new location.
Chuck, who's visiting from Indiana, stopped to watch the demo. "I've been here once," he says. pic.twitter.com/vxmucFnfqe
— David Lee Matthews (@DavidLMatthews) December 3, 2015Chuck, an Indiana resident visiting his daughter here, stopped to watch the demolition Thursday. He didn't seem too sentimental about Debevic's departure.
"I've only been here once," he said.
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