Conn’s Hospitality Group announced on Monday that it is closing Wm. Van’s Café as the company seeks to consolidate to stabilize its overall operations.
“We’ve been analyzing the numbers and really just taking a look at the reality of today’s economy,” said Karen Conn, CEO of Conn’s Hospitality Group. “The decision Monday morning was we’ve got to consolidate down and focus on the businesses where we can make the most impact, and Wm. Van, unfortunately, was the one we decided to close.”
Sunday was the last day of business for Wm. Van’s, which was located at 107 W. Cook St. in the historic Vinegar Hill Mall. CHG owns the Vinegar Hill Mall, which is also home to its Trish and Mary’s Public House. Trish and Mary’s remains open, although it is no longer serving food.
“We’re going back to the original concept of an English pub that serves beer, wine and spirits and non-alcoholic drinks,” Conn said.
However, CHG is placing the entire Vinegar Hill property on the auction block. CHG hopes to sell the property, which is listed with Springfield-based commercial broker Dan Sperry, in an auction that will open April 13 and close April 16. The listed starting bid for the property, which stretches from Spring Street to Second Street and from Cook Street to the alley behind the building, is $150,000.
An adjacent property at 625 S. Second St., known as the Dewitt Wickliffe Smith Mansion, will be offered in a separate auction during the same time frame. The historic house, built in 1865, has been converted into offices and currently serves as the administrative headquarters for CHG.
In addition to Wm. Van’s and Trish and Mary’s, CHG also operates Obed and Isaac’s Microbrewery, which has locations in both Springfield and Peoria, and the Inn at 835, a boutique hotel in downtown Springfield.
If the Vinegar Hill property sells, Conn said they will transition the English pub theme from Trish and Mary’s to the portion of the Obed and Isaac’s downtown Springfield complex that currently houses a cidery.
The Vinegar Hill Mall property was built in 1908 as a commercial laundry facility and was renovated in the early 1980s into retail and dining space. CHG acquired the property in 2021, opening Trish and Mary’s in 2023 and relocating Wm. Van’s to the space from its previous location on Seventh Street in 2024. The property includes more than 50,000 square feet on 1.8 acres.
Conn said selling the Vinegar Hill property will allow CHG to better focus on its three remaining businesses and will provide her a little more flexibility in her own life.
“It will provide me with a little more balance in my personal life, a little more time to spend with my husband,” she said. “This decision was bittersweet, but it’s for the best.”
Conn previously told Springfield Business Journal that she and her husband were working on a transition plan as they looked toward retirement. She said she’s heard comments via social media that she’s “throwing in the towel” and turning her back on the community, accusations she firmly denies.
“I am not,” Conn said. “I do love this community and my businesses, and I will continue to be an advocate for downtown Springfield till the day I take my last breath.”