This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

CharleyHorse Sports Pub to Close up Shop

The Tinley Park Charley Horse restaurant will soon shutter its doors, representatives said. Locations in New Lenox and Munster, Ind., will remain open, as will 94 West in Orland Park, which shares the same owners.

The co-owner of The CharleyHorse sports pub in says the time has come for her local restaurant branch to close.

“The way we see it, we will now have more time to focus on other two CharleyHorse branches and 94 West, as well,” Maria Sord wrote in an email. “Not taking Tinley’s closure as anything negative at all. Just time to move on!”

.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The bar at 9501 W. 171st St. will turn out the lights for the last time Sunday night following an already scheduled party, she said. CharleyHorse locations in New Lenox and Munster, IN, will remain open. Orland Park's 94 West restaurant will also remain unaffected.

Gift cards will be accepted at both remaining CharleyHorse locations, as well as 94 West, as has always been the case, Sord said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"If we have positions available at other locations we will sure fill them with Tinley park employees," she wrote in her e-mail, thanking customers and employees for their nearly six years of support for the business.

The restaurant was opened by Sord and her husband, Bryan, in an attempt to revive the CharleyHorse brand—it was once the name of a popular sports pub chain in the Southland.

The Tinley location was first, followed by New Lenox. The Munster location opened in early 2010 after a partnership with former Black Hawks goalie Tony Esposito collapsed, leading him to pull out of the deal.

This year, too, has been rocky for the family's businesses.

In January, village officials and others in New Lenox believed the location had been sold to the owner of the Jameson’s restaurant chain. Apparently, there was never any such deal, Bryan Sord said, dispelling rumors that it had closed.

"We're not closing," Sord told New Lenox Patch at the time. "A ton of people show interest in this spot, but we're not going anywhere."

Earlier this month, the SouthtownStar reported that a former bartender had filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was illegally dismissed from the Tinley location after she became pregnant. The paper reported that Heidi Spontak said she informed her manager and other employees that she was pregnant in May 2011, and was told not to let the bar owners know of her situation or she would be fired.

Spontak claimed she was doing her job properly, and filed a charge for discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in November. Spontak seeks back pay, lost benefits, attorney fees, compensation for emotional distress and punitive damages of $200,000.

In a written statement, Sord called the allegations "outrageously false and untrue."

"The idea that we would discriminate against any female employee
because they are pregnant is offensive," she wrote. ... "We did
everything we could to accommodate Ms. Spontak but she left on her own
accord."

Looking for more business news?

Read  or .

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?