Family Square 'Couldn't Do It Without The Support Of The Town'

BOLINGBROOK, IL — It's been about three weeks since Nick and Tony Pitsilos retired, selling their beloved Family Square Pancake House. When Bolingbrook Mayor Emeritus Roger Claar asked them how they're liking retirement during a presentation at Tuesday's Village Board meeting, the brothers had varying opinions.

"Oh, I don't know," Nick said. "I miss [the restaurant] a lot."

"I like it," Tony said, adding that it's only the beginning.

Family Square's final day of business was Aug. 8, and after announcements were made on Facebook by various Bolingbrook officials, including Claar and Trustee Michael Carpanzano, patrons poured into the restaurant, which was located at 372 S. Bolingbrook Drive, to show their support and say goodbye to the brothers.

Tony said by 2 p.m. that Sunday, they ran out of "all the food" despite the special order he placed for additional ingredients the day prior.

"People heard you were closing, [and] they wanted to see you one more time," Claar said.

RELATED: Family Square Closes, New Pancake House To Open In Its Wake

Some of the restaurant's customers stuck around since Day 1, the brothers said.

"You guys have become good friends of thousands of people in Bolingbrook," Claar said. "You're going to be missed."

Claar and the brothers grew together, in many ways, as Claar was mayor during the entirety of Family Square's existence. The Pitsilos brothers opened Family Square in 1985, and Claar was appointed Bolingbrook's mayor in 1986 and later elected in 1987.

After Nick and Tony announced the restaurant's closing, Claar took to Facebook to commemorate the years and his love of the place.

Nick said they "couldn't do it without the support of the town" and thanked Claar for the help over the years.

"Bolingbrook has been great," Tony added. "It was a little town and we grew it together and it became so great."

Originally purchased in 1984, Nick and Tony shared Tuesday that they were originally going to call the restaurant "Golden Table," but the day before the sign was developed, they decided to call it Family Square.

Claar said the restaurant was modeled after European cities with squares of open space surrounded by restaurants and shops. He lauded their "great food, great portions, and again, great prices."

Of the wide assortment of dishes on Family Square's menu, the cream of chicken soup was most popular, they said.

"The Greeks, they used to have it only on Sundays," Tony said. "I was the only one that put it on Wednesdays, and then I put it on another day, and everybody comes in, 'Cream of chicken? No? I'll come back tomorrow.' So we put it [on the menu] every day for the last 20 years. We used to make tons — 20-30 gallons."

Soon, Tasty Biscuit Pancake House — with a location in St. Charles — will open in its stead. Claar wrote on Facebook that the restaurant's owner, who he previously met with, "knows what she's doing."

"Nick And Tony looked for just the right purchaser who would keep his GREAT wait staff and employees and continue to be a great restaurant to serve the people in Bolingbrook," Claar said.

During Tasty Buscuit's remodeling, former Family Square staff are working at sister restaurant The Southern Cafe, located at 1819 Knapp St. in Crest Hill. In an announcement Aug. 13, they encouraged patrons to stop at the Tasty Biscuit's St. Charles location to "taste the future of Tasty Biscuit Bolingbrook."

With Tasty Biscuit, which offers keto and gluten-free options on its menu, Tony said he wants to help the owners and be at the grand opening, for which a date has yet to be set.

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