Omega Property Owner Wants to Re-Open, Doesn't Know When

It's been made clear the owner of Omega Restaurant , but what about the owner of the property?

George Andrews, the property owner of the long-standing Ogden Avenue restaurant and owner of the Omega Restaurant in Schaumburg, said on Thursday he plans to re-open the restaurant "as soon as possible". When asked if he had an idea of when that might be, Andrews said he wasn't sure.

The village  after it failed to pay its water bill, which forced the restaurant to close. It's been closed since, and on Monday, Omega's owner Jim Stavropoulos said he wasn't going to re-open in Downers Grove, instead choosing to hopefully open a new restaurant in Schaumburg.

Earlier this week, Stavropoulos said he thought it would be unlikely the doors re-opened any time soon, claiming he has sued Andrews regarding ownership of the property.

In 2007, Stavropoulos and his father took on Andrews as a partner. Through the partnership, he said, Andrews controlled 50 percent of the business and 50 percent of the property. By 2009, the partnership had deteriorated, which Stavropoulos claimed was the result of his lawyer also representing Andrews. The lawyer allegedly took Andrew's side and "did his best to split us up" according to Stavropoulos.

Stavropoulos said on Friday there was a custody battle over the restaurant in 2009 and accused Andrews of refinancing the property for $4 million when it was only worth $2.5 million. Neither side could afford to buy the other side out of the partnership, so Andrews gave up his interest in the business and Stavropoulos gave up his interest in the property, and Andrews became Omega's landlord, leasing the property to Stavropolous.

In 2009, Stavropoulos and his father brought in another partner. Stavropoulos claims the new partner ultimately conspired with Andrews to throw him and his father out and take over the restaurant, causing that partnership to end in July 2011. From July 2011 to April 2012, Stavropoulos said it was just him and his father running the restaurant. His father retired in April and Stavropoulos said he bought his father out, taking sole control of the restaurant.

If you'd like to read more about the apparent rift between Stavropoulos and Andrews, check out a story on the Downers Grove Reporter website titled "Court records show a long rift between Omega Restaurant business partners".

Previous Patch articles about closing:

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