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Haze Smokehouse in La Salle put up for sale, but not closing soon · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Hayes Smokehouse in lasal put up for sale but not
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  closing soon. Written by Matthias Werner, this article is being
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  read by an automated voice brought to you by Everlett.
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  A local dining favorite may soon say goodbye to Lasal
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  as Hayes Smoke House is being put up for sale.
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  According to a press release sent on Friday, May twenty
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  ninth by Coldwell Banker, owners Lee and Keegan Pakula are
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  looking to sell the barbecue restaurant in downtown LaSalle. We
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  want to look ahead to the future, to our personal
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  lives and to potentially retiring, Keegan said. We just want
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  to start preparing for a future that includes more time
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  as a family. The announcement that the restaurant is up
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  for sale does not mean that a closure is imminent.
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  They have no plans to stop while the property is
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  on the market. Real estate broker TJ. Templeton said in
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  the release, Hayes will remain open while a new owner
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  is sought. The potentially long process of finding a buyer
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  is no surprise to the Pakulas, who said that they
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  anticipated continuing operations before a transaction is made, and that
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  they will stay open for as long as it takes.
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  We're not going anywhere tomorrow, Keegan said. We recognize that
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  with a lot of businesses on the market locally, it
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  takes several years to see movement, and we realize that
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  could be a rile possibility for us. So this is
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  us looking ahead and being proactive. The Pakula family said
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  that they've made the decision to start looking to sell
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  around six months ago after their eleven year stint at
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  one fifty nine Buckland Street. We love our customers, we
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  love the community, and we love running this business, Keegan said.
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  Hayes is our second home and we really have built
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  a family there. Lee said that the decision to go
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  into the restaurant business came after a long career in
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  the auto industry. I've always enjoyed cooking and smoking meats,
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  he said. I really wanted to try my hand at
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  the restaurant business and it's been quite an experience. Ah.
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  The Paculus characterize their time in the business as a
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  success thanks to the community support and loyalty of their customers.
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  The community embraced us so wholeheartedly. Keegan said, we saw
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  such tremendous success early on and throughout our time here
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  and just to watch that all come together has been
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  so exciting. While the sale of the Smokehouse may be
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  far down the line, the future of Hayes beyond the
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  Pacula's ownership is unclear. Obviously, we'd love to see the
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  tradition of a restaurant being there continue on, Keegan said, However,
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  we are open to whatever vision a buyer has for
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  the property.