UPDATE / Sept. 28, 2013: For more than two months, longtime friends and neighbors of Cafe Buonaro’s in Fifth Avenue Station have been enjoying their last hurrah at the family-owned independent restaurant in Naperville. Friday evening the Buonauro family was kept busy greeting dozens of regulars with group hugs and fond farewells.
At 3PM Saturday, a Mariachi Band arrived to perform for the servers, bartenders and kitchen staff before the Italian restaurant opened its doors at 5PM for the final evening after 23 years as Cafe Buonaro’s.
Just before the lively music, singing and dancing, everybody stopped for a group photograph. Regina “Tina,” Michelle, Tina Marie and the entire Buonauro family did not hold back expressions of gratitude to all for the patronage and friendship.
Cafe Buonaro’s will be open from 5-10PM on Sat., Sept. 28, before it closes its doors after last call. Cheers!
Original Post / July 18
Earlier this week, the good folks at Café Buonaro’s—Regina “Tina,” Michelle, Tina Marie and the entire Buonauro family—came to their decision that they would be closing their independent family-owned Italian restaurant at the end of September. The popular destination established by the late Ron Buonauro in 1990 at Fifth Avenue Station has been their “home away from home for 23 years,” noted Tina Marie Buonauro Connaughey on Wednesday when she was anticipating letting all the regulars know about the change.
Anyone who has ever worked in the hospitality industry knows that as much fun as it can be to welcome patrons and please appetites, running a restaurant also can be grueling and competitive work in a country with roughly 970,000 restaurants. According to 2012 figures from the National Restaurant Association, restaurants in all shapes and sizes ring up approximately $632 billion in sales annually. It’s big business and hardest on the little guys.
Twenty-three years ago when Cafe Buonaro’s opened its doors to the community, the number of good family restaurants in Naperville could be counted on both hands, Connaughey said. That fact doesn’t hold true today when news of a new restaurant’s coming to town surfaces nearly every week. According to Dine Naperville, more than 260 local restaurants serve the city’s clientele, offering everything from casual fast food to Spanish tapas, fancy steaks and seafood to gourmet entrees, and more.
More than 40 restaurants invite diners to downtown Naperville alone. Four eateries are open in CityGate Centre. Additional restaurants are planned to join a dozen establishments at Freedom Commons. The Water Street district also plans others in its space. More than ever, it’s important to support the local restaurants throughout the community if you want them to remain in business, especially the small independent eateries that along with other small businesses usually are the nation’s leading job creators, employing both full and part time employees.
It’s long been touted by restaurant brokers that nearly 90 percent of independent establishments close during the first year, and the remaining restaurants will have an average five-year life span. If a restaurant can make it five years, it’s likely to be there another five years.
Thanks for 23 years-plus of memories!
At 23 years, Cafe Buonaro’s has beaten the odds and provided many loyal patrons with wonderful memories, much joy and laughter and many opportunities to support charitable causes over dinner and wine—with many lively fundraising auctions thrown into the mix.
The following letter to the community was released on July 18:
Dear Family, Friends and Loyal Customers,
It is with heavy hearts and hopeful minds that we write this letter to inform you that after 23 years, the Buonauro Family will be selling Café Buonaro’s – our cherished restaurant in Naperville’s 5th Avenue Station.
We’ve spent the last two decades building a business we are proud of by doing what we love most – making others happy. The decision to sell did not come lightly, and it is one that has weighed heavy on our hearts. In the end, we are doing what is best for our family and closing this precious chapter of our lives.
We would like to thank Kathy Mortensen, our property manager, for giving us a place to call home for so many years, as well as all of our vendors and suppliers. We would also like to thank our ever-faithful employees, many of whom have been here since the very beginning. Please join us through the end of September as we spend our last days in 5th Avenue Station sharing memories, telling stories, and enjoying your favorite menu items.
The last 23 years have been filled with great friends, great food, and experiences that will last us a lifetime. Our customers have become our family, and our appreciation for them goes beyond what any words can describe. When Ron opened Café Buonaro’s, he didn’t have dreams of grandeur. His dream was to invite his friends over for dinner – and make damn good Italian food. For Ron, everyone was a friend – it was just a matter of whether or not you had met yet.
You always have a seat at our table, and a place in our hearts.
Love,
Regina “Tina” , Michelle, Tina Marie & The Entire Buonauro Family
Ron Buonauro Memorial Foundation Golf Outing
The 5th Annual (and possibly last) Ron Buonauro Memorial Foundation Golf Outing will be held as previously scheduled on Mon., Aug. 19 at Springbrook Golf course, followed by dinner at Café Buonaro’s. Golfer openings are still available, contact Tina Marie Buonauro McConnaughey at (630) 973-0754.
