More than two weeks after the sudden closure of Bourbons Smokehouse in New Lenox, the owners are looking for investors to help them reopen.
Joe Regiro, who co-owns the smokehouse with his wife, Tonya Regiro, said they are seeking investors who not only offer financial support, but also share their vision and bring industry expertise to help get the business back on track. With hopes of reopening in December, Joe Regiro said they are eager to relaunch the business which, for him, has been a longtime dream and passion.
“We’re looking for investor groups that would see the value and the quality that we bring to the table and help us reformat the business so we could offer our food again, and do it in a way that it will be profitable, and also meet and exceed our customers expectations,” he said.
Regiro said they hope to find an investor by the end of November, allowing them to prepare to reopen before the new year. While the couple has considered other options, such as converting the business into a food truck, Regiro said they have a lease for another two years and are determined to make the restaurant succeed.
“We would like to know if anybody’s coming forward by the end of the month, but I think we have till the end of December, realistically, but we don’t have a lot of time, so we do have to make a decision on if we’re going to move forward or not,” he said.
Regiro said he and Tonya invested their life savings and retirement into the business, but facing mounting financial losses they decided to close Nov. 4. The timing was also influenced by the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, when they typically receive a surge in catering orders, Regiro said.
“We didn’t know if we would have the funding to support all of the customer orders for all the turkeys and for their meals, and we could never live with ourselves if something happened where we couldn’t deliver to families,” he said.
The owners announced the closing Nov. 2 on the restaurant’s Facebook page, giving patrons the opportunity to come in that weekend for a final visit before closing Monday. In the restaurant’s final days, the owners kept the doors open from 4-9 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Regiro said poor foot traffic, low daily orders and rising costs, such as inflation, expensive meats and labor, were key factors behind the closure, despite efforts to boost sales with promotions. He also said his time was stretched thin, juggling roles as manager, pitmaster and cook.
“Ever since we opened, we struggled, and Tonya and I take ownership,” Regiro said. “We spent a lot of money figuring stuff out in the beginning, we were extremely dedicated to our employees. So we probably should have reduced our menu, reduced our crew a long time ago.”
Mayor Tim Baldermann previously expressed frustration over the challenges facing small, locally owned businesses, noting that while residents often say they prefer mom-and-pop shops over chains, they don’t always show up to support them. It’s also difficult for small businesses to survive without the financial backing that larger chains have, he said.
Despite declining foot traffic and orders leading up to the closure, the Regiros received an outpouring of support on social media. Many praised the smokehouse’s food and service, expressing disappointment about the closing. Regiro said this positive feedback has given him hope the business can still succeed.
The slow-smoked barbecue business opened its New Lenox location at 280 E. Lincoln Highway, in March 2022, transitioning from a catering only operation based in Tinley Park.
If the smokehouse reopens, Regiro said they’re open to making adjustments that won’t compromise the brand’s vision or their commitment to serving high-quality meats, paired with his five homemade sauces and made-from-scratch dishes.
“We focused on homemade and we were a little more expensive, I think, than the surrounding businesses, but we believed in that quality,” Regiro said. “We want to get back to it, but we need help.”
Some initial plans include expanding the to-go and catering services, downsizing the restaurant’s seating area and rebranding the bar to make the space open to all ages.
The New Lenox location was the smokehouse’s first dine-in restaurant, a venture Regiro decided to pursue after being laid off in 2019.
For Regiro, smoking meats began as a weekend hobby before evolving into a catering business in 2018. For a time, he and Tonya continued working their full-time jobs while using a shared kitchen on weekends to prepare the barbecue.
As demand for his barbecue grew, Joe and Tonya planned to open a restaurant in 2020 in Tinley Park, but the pandemic delayed their launch. When they finally opened at their leased space in New Lenox, they faced more challenges, including losing their planned general manager and a soft opening that attracted larger crowds than expected, Joe Regiro said.
“The community, I think, mostly love us and support us. But then there’s folks that we just couldn’t get back,” he said. “So we needed to do a better job in consistency over the years. And as for in the beginning, it was up and down, and the hardest thing to do is to manage.”
Regiro said he would love to get back to smoking meats at the business that means so much to him.
“We are a small family, not even middle class family, that built this because of a passion and dream that we have to create better barbecue,” he said.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
