Myron and Phil’s won’t reopen at old location

by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI

Myron and Phil’s Restaurant, a longtime Lincolnwood family business, will not reopen at 3900 W. Devon Ave. after a fire on May 8 caused extensive damage to the building, according to owner Mark Freedman.

Freedman held an auction of items from the business at the restaurant on Dec. 9. He said that he sold tables, chairs, glassware, pans and other items while keeping memorabilia from the restaurant.

Freedman said that he hopes to open a new restaurant. "We’re trying to come up with a new concept that will incorporate the Myron and Phil spirit, but we just got to the point where we had to walk away from this location," Freedman said

The fire started in the ceiling of the restaurant’s storeroom, and the Lincolnwood Fire Department said at the time that the cause of the fire appeared to be ballast in a lamp in the storeroom. Freedman had hoped to reopen the business in a month and "rise like a Phoenix."

The fire started at about 2:40 p.m., about 30 minutes after Freedman’s father, Myron Freedman, died at the age of 95. Myron Freedman opened the restaurant with his brother Phil in 1971.

Freedman said that some parties have approached opening a new restaurant. He said that he would serve many of the dishes that Myron and Phil’s was known for but that he also would feature pub items such as micro brewed beer, sandwiches and smoked barbecue dishes.

Freedman said that he has been looking at locations in Lincolnwood, Niles, Skokie, Wilmette, Wheeling and Northlake. "We are hoping that we can stay in Lincolnwood because we have a rich history here," he said.

Lincolnwood Mayor Gerald Turry said that he was saddened to hear that the restaurant will not reopen at the original location. "It’s been an iconic staple in the village, and I am very sad to hear they won’t fix that up," Turry said.

"If we do reopen in Lincolnwood, one idea was to call it the Tessville Tap," Freedman said. The village originally was named Tessville.