SPRINGFIELD, IL – A spot for hot soul food suppers on the corner of Monroe Street is closing, citing downtown as the reason for the planned closure.
On July 28, owner of Aunt Lou’s Corey Dickerson posted to social media thanking every customer, friend and supporter of the traditional southern comfort and upscale dinner spot for the past two years of loyal service at 524 E Monroe St.
The restaurant served fried chicken to collard greens and mac and cheese with other traditional Black southern dishes.
He went on to say while downtown helped the restaurant find its footing and grow in the community, the time was right to continue growing in a space outside of downtown and the final day of operation at Aunt Lou’s would be Aug. 1.
“We are truly grateful that you chose to make Aunt Lou’s a part of your lives,” Dickerson wrote. “As downtown continues to change, we feel this is the right time to take the next step and continue growing.”
The changes, Dickerson made mention of, likely include the decreased foot traffic in downtown spaces. Previous businesses like The Wakery, Ad Astra Wine Bar, The Keep Store and Mary Flor among others have cited their closure in part with loss of foot traffic.
The soul food joint will re-open by the end of August on the west side at a new location not yet announced, Dickerson said.
“If you’ve been meaning to stop by one more time, we’d love to see your faces before we close this chapter,” Dickerson said. “Your love has made this journey possible, and we can’t wait to continue making memories with you at our new location!”
Downtown’s new direction
In effort to keep downtown flourishing and bring more funding and feet to niche businesses, group initiatives like My Heart’s Downtown, or organizations like Downtown Springfield Inc. have recently announced a slew of events like the Christkindlmarket, which could take place in the winter of 2027.
Jay Shanle, who took over the role of director for Downtown Springfield Inc. from outgoing director Carlos Ortega in February of this year, actively posts on social media platforms about new businesses coming to downtown.
He has also worked in part with the My Heart’s Downtown group, installing a new statue next to the Old State Capitol and hosting “Downtown Walks,” to encourage guests to try new businesses they have never been in before.
However, some issues still remain with parking becoming less accessible in previously free lots behind Gallina’s Pizza and across the tracks from Union Station. Metropolis, a California-based parking company, now charges rates by the hour in four lots across the city.
“DSI needs to make sure there are things that they can do and they can’t do,” Shanle said in March. “(What we can do is) take what is implicit and make it explicit. What I mean by that is if you go downtown, you know where you can park downtown but our guests don’t understand that.”
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@usatodayco.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Soul food restaurant leaving downtown Springfield for new location
Reporting by Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
