Charley Horse trotting out of Tinley
June 1, 2012 4:00PM
Updated: July 6, 2012 10:51AM
Following a farewell party Sunday, The Charley Horse in Tinley Park will trot out of town.
Owner Bryan Sord said the move won’t affect his two other Charley Horse locations — in New Lenox and Munster, Ind. — nor his 94 West Steak & Seafood restaurant in Orland Park. He said Friday that the still-sluggish economy is partly to blame, but that, logistically, it’s tough running four restaurants simultaneously.
The Tinley Park location, 9501 W. 171st St., in the Towne Centre Plaza, opened in the summer of 2007. It had previously been Jeremiah Sweeney’s, and at one time Sord also operated a pancake house and Opa’s Greek Taverna in the shopping center.
“We’re sad we’re going, very sad,” Sord said.
Customers holding gift cards for the restaurant can use them at the other Charley Horse locations or 94 West, he said. About a dozen employees who work in Tinley Park will be offered jobs at the three other restaurants, Sord said. He said there had been a tentative deal for one of the Tinley restaurant’s managers to take over Charley Horse and continue operating under that name, but “it just didn’t happen.” Sord leases the space in the shopping center.
He said he has invited the public and Tinley Park officials, including Mayor Ed Zabrocki, for a farewell party Sunday.
