A mainstay of downtown Mount Prospect is up for sale, but it’s not going away yet.
Manager Maggie Sinz confirmed that Dave’s Specialty Foods, 105 W. Prospect Ave., is looking for a buyer.
Owner Dave Esau also announced the sale on YouTube.
“We’re not walking away,” he said. “We’re not closing the shop. Nothing’s wrong.”
Esau said he simply wants to get out while the business is on top. He said he has been talking about it for a few months.
Sinz, who is Esau’s daughter, said she also wants to start a family.
Esau said the idea is to start its marketing with a customer base that includes around 3,500 people.
Dave Esau, left, talks with guests, including Bob Shudy, right, of Mount Prospect, enjoying the food at the Mount Prospect Downtown Merchants Association mixer at Dave’s Specialty Foods in Mount Prospect.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com, 2021
“I think it’s a good place to start, because I’m thinking someone in our community, this would be a perfect place for you,” he said.
“We’re hoping to find someone in the community that’s willing to keep things going,” Sinz said. “We’ve got the space ready to go for someone to come on in and make a new dream.”
Over the years, Dave’s has fed the community with homemade soups, panini sandwiches, fresh salads and pastries. It has a robust catering operation, hosts private parties and teaches demo-style cooking classes as well. Its motto is, “Forget the chains. It’s better here!”
The business opened in 2001 on the other side of the tracks near Northwest Highway and Central Road, before moving to its current location.
Over the years, it has weathered everything from the Great Recession to COVID and survived for nearly a quarter-century.
“That’s unheard of,” he said. “That’s something like 10% or less of food establishment restaurants.”
For the prospective new owner, Esau said, the restaurant offers new coolers and a “very young giant oven with six beautiful burners,” new air conditioning, a new roof and a new furnace.
Sinz said it’s “bittersweet for us. We’re sad, but we’re happy for a new chapter.”
Although the duo say Dave’s Specialty Foods will eventually find a buyer, this is not the final chapter for the father-daughter team.
“We’ll do something again in the future together because we’re such good teammates,” she said.