Diamand's Done? Empty Joliet Restaurant Available For Lease

JOLIET, IL — Diamand's Family Restaurant opened in Joliet in 1989 but its chances of reopening appear more and more unlikely by the day. For five entire months, ever since the new coronavirus pandemic reached Illinois, Diamand's has remained a shuttered building.

Turns out, a downtown Chicago real estate company has been retained in hopes of finding a new tenant for the Diamand's property, 3000 Plainfield Road, Joliet Patch has learned.

ARC Real Estate Group is the listing agent trying to find another tenant for the Diamand's parcel. The listing touts the property as a "second generation restaurant building" with 5,280-square-foot of space on 1.1 acres. "Strong regional destination near intersection of Interstate 55 and U.S. Route 30."

You can check out the real estate flyer here.

Thirteen months ago, on July 5, 2019, Joliet Patch produced a human-interest story on Diamand's because the 30-year-old sit-d0wn Joliet restaurant was making major changes, overhauling its menu and reducing its hours of operation to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For years, Diamand's opened daily at 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.

"A majority of the menu is still pretty much the same," Tasso Diamantopoulos told Joliet Patch at the time. "To be in the community for 30 years and stay as busy as we are, is a pretty amazing thing to see. The business is still strong."

Then, the coronavirus came in March and caused a dramatic transformation of the indoor restaurant industry.

Diamand's chose to close its restaurant in mid-March and it has never reopened.

Diamand's has been owned and operated by the same family throughout its 31-year existence in Joliet. The key members of Diamand's Family Restaurant are Tasso Diamantopoulos, his father, Pete, and his uncles George and Jim.

Diamand's made a Facebook post in June but it has not made any Facebook posts since.

When devoted customers posted follow-up questions, wondering when Diamand's would reopen this summer, Diamand's representatives did not post a response to the questions.

At any rate, if you know someone interested in acquiring the Diamand's property, they can contact Matt Cavanagh, ARC's director of leasing, at 630-908-5694, or Al Rodenbostel, ARC's managing principal, at 630-908-5701.

"Our strong relationships with the top national and local tenants, landlords, developers, and government officials provides for a diverse and deep knowledge of current and future trends in the retail real estate industry," ARC's website proclaims.

This article originally appeared on the Joliet Patch