'Change Always Comes': Teehan's Tavern Owner To Retire

TINLEY PARK, IL — After news of the Village of Tinley Park's pending acquisition of rights to the Teehan's bar name, the owner is citing her pending retirement as the reason behind the decision.

Village officials last week approved a deal to purchase rights to the Teehan's name and assets —though it already owned the property — and Regis Teehan said Wednesday she will retire at the end of September.

Teehan has served in the role for 34 years, at the bar that has been in her family since 1917. The bar will continue operating after her retirement; her staff will stay on in the transition.

"No one is losing their jobs, and no one is losing their tavern," Teehan said in a release. "For now, the only real difference is that, come October 1st, I will be retired. I don't think any of the big changes will come until later."

The Village has said they plan to demolish the 171-year-old building by year's end, with plans to build anew and keep the Teehan's name alive.

Teehan said the Village, which purchased the property in May 2023, intends to essentially replicate the building — with some modernizations — on the same property and lease it along with the Teehan's Tavern name to a new operator. According to plans released by the Village in March 2023, the business will serve as an anchor for the village's forthcoming Harmony Square, a 1.6-acre mixed use public space.

"One thing my father always said to me was, 'Change always comes,' and I guess this is just one of those changes," Teehan said. "The fact is, though, I'm ready to retire. I grew up in this bar, and I took it over in 1989. This has been a wonderful, wild ride, and now it's time for me to hop off the Tilt-a-Whirl. Believe me, it wasn't an easy decision, but I want to travel and read and spend more time with my family. And the way the world is, who knows how much more time anyone has?"

Teehan noted that she will be hands-off following her retirement, but added that the Village has shared some of their plans for preservation with her, and she "feels optimistic about this next chapter in her family’s tavern.

"Everyone I’ve talked with from the Village [of Tinley Park] has made me feel confident that the Teehan’s legacy will be honored in the reconstruction and reopening," Teehan said.

"This bar is like a member of my family. It was my great-grandfather who bought it in 1917. After him, it was Grandma who ran it, then my father. When it came to me in 1989, I was ready to carry the torch, and now I’m ready to pass it.

"Teehan’s has been a part of Tinley Park for over a century. Our tiny farm town has grown a great deal since those days — even since I took over the business — but the heart of Tinley Park remains situated on Oak Park Avenue, and I’m happy to know that the new owners and management understand and respect the role my family’s tavern has played in Tinley Park for all of these years."