It’s been a seven-year run for Red Hen Bread in Oak Park, but owners Rose and Bob Picchietti announced they are closing the restaurant on Feb. 17.
The Picchiettis could not immediately be reached for comment, but a sign on the door at Red Hen, 736 Lake St., noted that Red Hen is focusing on its wholesale operation “providing breads and pastries to hundreds of restaurants and hotels around the Chicago metropolitan area.”
“We want to thank each and every one of our valued customers for your support and companionship over the last seven years,” the sign read.
The message also was posted on Red Hen’s Facebook fan page on Feb. 3.
David King, head of the Oak Park commercial real estate firm David King & Associates, has been hired to lease the store.
King said the location at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street is “the best corner in the village” for commercial real estate.
“We are already having conversations with prospective tenants who, quite candidly, have been on the sidelines waiting on the right space [to locate] in the village,” King said in a telephone interview.
Red Hen opened up shop in Oak Park in 2009, taking the place of Great Harvest Bread Co., which was owned by Cathy Yen, who now serves as executive director of the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce.
The bakery opened its first shop in Chicago and eventually grew to three locations. The Oak Park location is the only retail location listed as being in operation on Red Hen’s website.
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com
