Lifelong Palatine Residents Purchase Brandt’s The Little Café

Great news for Brandt's The Little Cafe fans, new life has been breathed into the business after two lifelong Palatine residents purchased it on Wednesday.

Jimmy Iuorio and Walt Oswald bought the business and according to Iuorio, the two plan to make some upgrades, but will keep the same food and general ambiance of the Palatine favorite.

“Brandt's has been there since 1964. We feel that there needs to be something in our lives and in our towns that stays constant. So far it's been constant for 50 years and we hope to get another 50,” Iuorio said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Iuorio said after travelling through Europe, he grew to love the little pubs that felt like the community living room.

“That’s the way we hope people feel about it, not fancy but homey and friendly and good for a Tuesday night dinner and a game,” Iuorio said.

Before the sale it was unclear whether Brandt's would remain open in 2013.

How the business got into trouble, as reported by Palatine Patch in mid-October, goes back to the late 1990s when property taxes on the two acres the restaurant is located on, began to rise.

"In the early 1990's, I was paying $12,000 a year in taxes, but in the late 1990's, they [taxes] rose to $50,000 a year, that's when things got hard," Brandt's then owner George Grisco told Patch in December.

According to court documents, as of May 31, 2011, and foreclosure proceedings began against the property in June 2011.

Stay tuned for updates on this story from Palatine Patch!