No Chance

Grayslake's "Last Chance Saloon" rides into the sunset after standing shuttered for over a year - a move orchestrated by neighboring Emil's Tavern, who bought the Chance with intentions of converting it into an Italian restaurant until the building's apparently-questionable structural integrity foiled their plans. Demolition began this week on the 112 (and 111) year-old building, with no definite plans for replacement announced yet.

 

The Chance actually comprised of two seperate buildings: the William Pester Building on the right was constructed in 1903, and was leased to many tenants over the years - serving as (among other things) a dry goods store, photography studio, hardware store, and finally a restaurant/tavern since 1935 that changed hands and names countless times; becoming the Last Chance Saloon in the 1960s.

 

The Grayslake 5 & 10 Building, on the left - which featured a distinctive "omega" roof until yesterday - was constructed in 1902. It first housed a jewelry store, then mens/boys accessories store, a bakery, a short-lived restaurant, and finally the Grayslake 5 & 10 Store until it was purchased by the neighboring Last Chance in 1987. The owner then knocked-down the walls between the two buildings, and connected them into one large structure, remodeling the interior and exterior facades to match - fully unifying the structures into the 129 Center Street address.

 

The Last Chance continued operation until the ill-fated Emil's buyout in late 2012.

 

(Source: "Grayslake - A Historical Portrait [1994, Grayslake Historical Society])

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