Ann Sather to open in former Stella's Diner location in Chicago's East Lakeview community; location to north to close

While the building that housed the flagship Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont Avenue has been torn down, the renowned Chicago restaurant chain is now set to open a new Lakeview location.

However, the opening of this new location will mean the closure of another existing one.

Ann Sather, owned by former Chicago Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), has signed a lease to open at 3042 N. Broadway at Barry Avenue in the fall. This is the former location of Stella's Diner, which just closed.

This new Ann Sather will replace a location that has been in operation for 30 years about half a mile north at 3415 N. Broadway, at Roscoe Street. That location is set to close shortly before the new location at the former Stella's site opens.

Meanwhile, the building that used to house the Ann Sather flagship location, at 909 W. Belmont Ave. blocks away from both sites on Broadway, was under demolition as of this week as a new development is constructed.

In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon, Tunney explained the chain of events that is now leading to the shuffle of Ann Sather spaces.

He said around the time of the COVID pandemic, he told the landlords at his restaurants that he would be month-to-month at all of them after selling his property on Belmont Avenue, which included the flagship location that recently closed.

Tunney said after the Belmont Avenue flagship closed, he was approached by his landlord at 3415 N. Broadway, who said the neighboring veterinary business wanted to expand and would be taking a longer lease of 10 to 15 years.

The landlord asked Tunney to consider vacating the Broadway and Roscoe space, and Tunney said the landlord gave him the time to make the decision and to move.

Meanwhile, the owner of Stella's had been courting Tunney to take over for some time.

"I had been approached by the Stella's owner years ago, like two or three years ago, from the current owner — which was Marvin Barsky — and I said: 'I don't need a restaurant at Broadway and Barry. I have one at Broadway and Roscoe. Why would I want both?" said Tunney.

But closing both the Belmont Avenue flagship and the Broadway and Roscoe location would have meant no Ann Sather restaurants in Lakeview at all. Thus, Tunney negotiated to take over the Stella's space.

The flagship Ann Sather location has moved from Belmont Avenue to 1819 W. Division St. in the West Town community — an area where Ann Sather has had a presence in the past. The Division Street site formerly housed a location of the breakfast restaurant chain Yolk.

"If you go to Division, I know it's not as convenient, but you'll see a complete restoration of what looks like Belmont on Division," Tunney said, adding that this goes down to the level of stenciling, artwork, chandeliers, and other aesthetics.

At the former Belmont Avenue Ann Sather site, a mixed-use development is under construction. Just to the east of the former Belmont Avenue Ann Sather, a building now rising will feature 46 luxury apartments.

This building replaced a two-story brown brick building, which housed The Gallery Bookstore, Belmont Army Vintage, and other businesses. It was nearly architecturally identical to the neighboring building that housed Ann Sather.

A second 46-unit phase of the development, called the Belmora, will be built where Ann Sather stood.

The latest in a series of moves for Ann Sather

The Ann Sather restaurant flagship has been located on the south side of Belmont Avenue between the Chicago Transit Authority 'L' tracks and Clark Street since Ann Sather herself first took over an eatery called the Swedish Diner on the block in 1945, but has moved several times.

The first Ann Sather location was located at 935 W. Belmont Ave., Tunney said. Sather moved steps to the east to 925 W. Belmont Ave. in 1955.

In 1980, Tunney bought the business. After five years, Ann Sather restaurant was stable and growing, and Tunney purchased a Hursen Funeral Home location down the block at 929 W. Belmont Ave.

Tunney was elected alderman of the 44th Ward in 2003. The Ann Sather flagship remained at the former funeral home location, now the home of Reckless Records and the Clarity Clinic, until 2007.

Tunney explained that he had to give up the liquor license for Ann Sather restaurants when he became alderman, and had to amend his business plan. Meanwhile, he also purchased several buildings on the south side of Belmont Ave., and a developer asked about bringing a Panera Bread into the space at 909 W. Belmont Ave.

After about 18 months of discussions, Tunney suggested that the developer instead buy the former funeral home that then housed Ann Sather and pay him to move down the street to 909 W. Belmont Ave., which he also owned.

Tunney served as alderman representing much of the Lakeview community for 20 years, all while also running the Ann Sather restaurants. He decided not to run for reelection as alderman in 2023, and was succeeded as alderman by his former chief of staff, Bennett Lawson.

"It was hard during those years to have two full-time jobs, because I was a full-time alderman," Tunney said.

Today, with Tunney no longer at City Hall, but still at the helm of the restaurant chain, Ann Sather still has three locations. The third is located at 1147 W. Granville Ave. in Edgewater.

Other locations have also come and gone over the years — including one at 1448 N. Milwaukee Ave. in the Wicker Park neighborhood not far from the new flagship on Division Street. The building that housed the Wicker Park restaurant was severely damaged in a construction mishap and had to be torn down.

Another Ann Sather location opened in 1987 at 5207 N. Clark St in Andersonville, and was originally owned and operated by Tunney's sister, Debbie. The Andersonville Ann Sather closed in 2013, and the space is now occupied by a Raygun apparel and design store.

Tunney's brother, Ed, opened a third Ann Sather location at 1329 E. 57th St. in the Hyde Park neighborhood in 1989, but that location closed five years later.

Ann Sather locations have also come and gone at 3416 N. Southport Ave. in Lakeview, and 2665 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park.

Stella's, the diner that Ann Sather will supplant at Broadway and Barry, had been in business for 64 years.  

In 1962, Jimmy and Stella Mavraganes opened the restaurant as The Wheel-A-Round, Chicago Magazine reported. The name later changed to The Lakefront Diner, and after the founders' daughter and son, Maria and Gus, took over, they honored their mother by adopting the name Stella's Diner.

Current owner Marvin Barsky bought Stella's in 2021. Barsky also owns The Bagel, across the street at 3107 N. Broadway, which he bought after owner Dan Wolf died in 2022.

Stella's and The Bagel were both closed by the Chicago Department of Public Health last month for cockroach infestations. Both reopened before Stella's went out of business altogether, and Barsky said the Stella's closure was a result of the sale that will turn the space over to Ann Sather and was not connected to the health department issues.

The Bagel remains open for business as usual, and Barsky said plans are still afoot to open a new location for that historic restaurant in Glenview.