"It's been a great run," said Reed Merdinger, co-owner of Clucker's Charcoal Chicken, which opened at 536 N. Milwaukee Ave. in early 2015."We're a busy restaurant -- it's managing resources."
The Libertyville store will close effective Jan. 29. A full-service Clucker's that opened in Highwood in 2015 and Clucker's TO GO that opened in 2021 in Wilmette will continue operations. Libertyville employees will have the opportunity to work at those locations. by signing up you agree to our terms of service Merdinger said Clucker's had great support from schools and churches and hopes to continue serving customers in the Libertyville area in a different fashion.
Clucker's specializes in hormone-free chicken served with scratch-made family recipes. Merdinger said the chickens he uses are raised on farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the lump-wood charcoal is from Mexico.Since the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants have experienced higher rents, labor and food costs. Though prices have dropped in the past month, Merdinger said he was paying $75 for a case of lettuce that had cost $20, and a case of chicken breasts that had been $45 now runs $151.