OUT OF BUSINESS: Another Joliet Restaurant Fails To Make It, Tom Grotovsky Announces Details Of His Closing

JOLIET, IL — As 2025 draws to a close, longtime Joliet restaurant owner Tom Grotovsky has broken the news that he's closing up The Curator's Cafe for good. Tuesday is his last day of business. He opened The Curator's Cafe on Joliet's Essington Road in January 2024 after several years of operating the Great American Bagel restaurant at that location.

The Curator's Cafe moved in January to the American Legion Hall on Joliet's Ingalls Avenue, an off-the-beaten path location for a sit-down restaurant. Most of Joliet's restaurants are on busy roads such as Jefferson, Larkin and Essington Road, but Grotovsky wanted to give it a try and operate his Curator's Cafe from inside the American Legion Hall, and it never caught on with the community.

"This is a sad day for The Curator's Cafe. We are here to announce that we are going out of business as of tomorrow December 23," Grotovsky shared to Facebook. "When we close at 7ish, we will no longer open at our current location The American Post 1080, 2625 Ingalls Avenue, Joliet. We do encourage you to still come to the American Legion in respect of all of our veterans and for the cheap drink prices. Thank you to the community for taking time out of your day to have lunch or dinner the past 13 years. I have made a lot of lifetime friends through this journey."

In January 2024, when Grotovsky first tried The Curator's Cafe concept inside his former Great American Bagels location, Joliet Patch inquired why Grotovsky decided to part ways with Great American Bagel, which is a national restaurant franchise.

"I am 62 years old and historically, our slowest month is always January," Grotovsky remarked. "I had to make a change for personal growth, family life and a better life for myself. I want it to be known as having good food, pleasant atmosphere, good service and local and national artists on display. I think that's really important."