As recently as a couple of months ago, owner Mark Forinash was still hoping to be able to reopen Café Moxo in its original location. In an Aug. 29 Illinois Times article, Forinash said his goal was to be back open at 411 E. Adams by the end of the year. The restaurant operated there for 18 years until a June 19 fire in the adjacent building heavily damaged several properties on the block.
Now, the city has issued a demolition permit for 413 E. Adams St. and special brackets are being put in place to stabilize the wall that was between Café Moxo and the three-story building that was destroyed by the fire.
"O'Shea is finishing with the stabilization brackets on Friday," said building owner Chris Nickell. "Building and zoning has promised they'll send a (city) inspector as soon as that's done. So demolition (on 413 E. Adams St.) should start by the middle of next week. They'll go gently because of the situation, but they think they have about two weeks of work to get it cleaned up and safe, and then the street can be reopened."
But even though the building that housed Café Moxo is being saved, Forinash said he simply can’t wait any longer, given the work that will need to take place at his former building and the adjacent properties.
“I put it off for as long as I possibly could. … it took me over four and a half months to come to the realization that it just wasn’t in our cards currently. We have to make a decision to get open relatively quickly, but smartly at the same time,” Forinash said.
“We are really close to finalizing a location. … it’s hard because there’s an operator in there currently,” he said, noting that he doesn’t want to pre-empt the other business owner’s closing announcement.
While the new location will be centrally located, it will not be downtown.
“We were not able to find a location downtown that suits our needs currently,” Forinash said. “We are doing everything that we can to return to downtown. … we’re still looking at possible opportunities for a second location.”
Forinash said he realizes that Café Moxo served as an anchor to help drive foot traffic to other nearby locations and sympathizes with the businesses that are now struggling, describing it as “crazy hard” to leave downtown.
“It’s where my heart was; all of our being was downtown,” he said. “It just wasn’t in the cards for a situation that we had zero control over. It’s been brutal.”
Nickell said, "For us as a landlord, it's a disappointment, but at the same time it's going to be a beautiful location when we're done with it, with plenty of outdoor seating. So it will be a great opportunity for someone."
For now, the revised goal is to have Café Moxo open in the new location by March 1.
“I’m a people person, and I’m most comfortable behind the counter,” Forinash said. “It’s been sad not being able to do that. The only thing we want to do is get reopened soon so we can welcome the community back in.”
