Amy Morton's Stolp Island Social Closes 4 Years After Opening Downtown

AURORA, IL — Stolp Island Social, which opened less than four years by restaurateur Amy Morton, is shuttering its doors.

The city, in announcing the steakhouse's closure, described the restaurant as a "cutting-edge dining destination" that drew both Aurorans and crowds visiting the nearby Paramount Theatre. Morton, whose father is of Morton Steakhouse fame, opened the restaurant in November 2019, making it her fourth establishment in the Chicago area at the time.

"[Three and a half] years later people, including myself, are wondering 'perhaps a steakhouse wasn't the best option due to its price point,'" Morton said in a letter to the community on Facebook. "And in fact, we will truly never know because Stolp's incredible forward trajectory came to a thunderous halt just 3 months after opening."

She described the challenge during the pandemic as "no more difficult time to operate a restaurant than since the Great Depression."

Despite federal, state and local financial help awarded to restaurants at the time, Stolp Island Social "never regained the footing that had it on track to earn $2.5 million a year during its first year," city officials said in a news release.

"It was exciting to see Stolp Island Social open as one of the new anchor eateries in the business district," Mayor Richard Irvin said in a statement. "We could never have predicted what would happen next as reality hit us hard and in the most unexpected way."

The restaurant has been on hiatus for the summer, but after the Aurora Civic Center Authority — Paramount Theatre's governing body and the landlord for the restaurant space — stepped in to discuss options for the space and had "amicable discussions" with Morton, the restaurateur decided to permanently close the space, officials said.

The city is in the process of finding a new tenant that would "better fit downtown Aurora" and has already received inquiries from other restaurateurs.

"The new restaurant partner we seek to lease with will not only welcome our visitors to our theaters and school, but also be a new dining staple for our local residents. This is an opportunity to continue to build upon the revival and resilience of downtown Aurora."

Officials see the closing as an opportunity to "continue to build upon the revival and resilience of downtown Aurora."

"This is the first time we have a turnkey restaurant to offer," David Dibo, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, said in a statement. "We will recoup our investment, facilitate an ideal replacement, and be better for it."

Morton echoed their sentiments in her message, saying she hopes the renaissance continues, "even though it is going to take longer and even though there will be and have already been Covid casualties along the way."