Readers React to Stashs' Sudden Closing

Days after news broke that Bobby Dubin had shuttered his three Highland Park restaurants, people continue to discuss the hot dog spot's legacy and what the loss means for the city.

Stashs' Sudden Closing Cost Local Coupon Co. $16,000

Bobby Dubin worked with a Deerfield-based WeDeal.com to sell discounts to his three restaurants, asking for 90 percent of the profit up front. Two weeks later, he closed them all.

Bobby Dubin surprised many this week when he closed his three restaurants — Stashs, 2nd Street Bistro and 2nd Street Enoteca. One person he especially caught off guard was Jordan Heller, the founder and CEO of Deerfield-based WeDeal.com. The news meant that Heller had just lost about $16,000. Heller believes he was intentionally swindled. Dubin says he simply ran out of money when he thought he could hold on a little longer. 'He told me what I needed to hear' Much like Groupon, WeDeal.com is an online company that offers coupons for discounted goods, services and food. It started in 2010 and has offered almost 1,400 deals since then, many for Highland Park restaurants like Once Upon a Bagel, La Casa de Isaac and Moishe, Michael's and …

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Best Burger Poll Ends Today

Stashs and Norton's are neck-in-neck in this week's Readers' Choice. Vote before the contest ends!

Highlands and Ravines

Remembering 44 Years of Highland Park Eats

The 44th anniversary of Stashs brings back memories of old dining favorites in Highland Park.

On Tuesday, Stashs celebrated its 44th birthday, and boastfully claimed to be the "oldest restaurant in Highland Park."  See more photos from the event on Patch's Facebook page. I'm not 100 percent sure if that is true - Country Kitchen has also been around a long time (as have a few of the fast food outlets) - but Stashs surely has one of the most colorful stories for any Highland Park institution. Certainly, Stashs has come a long way in 44 years. I still remember regular visits to the small storefront further south on Second Street - about where the truck dock for Port Clinton Square is today. The space was distinctive, with grease-covered walls, a few stools along the window, and a limited menu -- hot dogs, Polish sausage, hamburgers …

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Last Chance: Gilt Groupe Heads to Library

Retail website cofounder to speak at Highland Park Public Library this Friday.

This week in Last Chance we showcase someone who knows how to shop and a restaurant that knows how to last. Gilt Groupe heads to Highland Park Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, the cofounder of Gilt Groupe, a Web site that offers deals on top designer labels, will discusses her new book, "By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt And Changed The Way Millions Shop" at the Highland Park Public Library this Friday at 1 p.m. From the library's website: "Wilson explains how she and her friend launched a groundbreaking business, took fashonistas by storm, and revolutionized the fashion and e-commerce industries. Wilson provides an inside view of the fashion industry, too." Books will be for sale and the event will end with a book signing. Dessert will be …

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Did You Grow Up Going to Stashs?

In the build up to Stashs' 44th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, Patch is looking for readers to share their favorite moments, memories (and hot dogs).

After 44 Years, Stashs Celebrates Old and New

A restaurant in the midst of reinventing itself will celebrate its 44th anniversary next Tuesday.

It used to be all about the hot dogs. Forty-four years ago, in a town without Michaels, Port Clinton Square or Renaissance Place, Stashs was the place to be in Highland Park. Originally owned by Stan Jacobson, the restaurant, which celebrates its 44th anniversary next Tuesday, began with a small menu focused on hot dogs and fries. It's held four locations in its nearly 50 years of existence, from the current location of Real Urban Barbecue to a trailer shared with a bakery.  "The lines were unbelievable," said Bobby Dubin, who bought the restaurant nearly 10 years ago. "That was the place for Highland Parkers." Want Highland Park news in your inbox? Subscribe to Patch's newsletter. When Dubin took over, however, business wasn't what it …

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Stashs Owner Opens BYOB Enoteca

Bring your own wine to Highland Park's newest Italian place.

Bobby Dubin is at it again. The Stashs owner recently turned part of his restaurant into a BYOB bistro. On Thursday, he's opening another restaurant in the same storefront: an Italian place called 2nd Street Enoteca. "I always had this great desire for Italian," Dubin said.  The longtime restaurateur owned Gusto Italiano in Glenview from 1985-95 and watched that restaurant grow from 14 tables to 57. Now his head chef from Gusto will join him at Enoteca. "It's not the typical southern Italian cuisine we all grew up with and loved," Dubin said. "The menu is eclectic. It's a combination of all the regions of Italy." Unlike 2nd Street Bistro, which prides itself on getting what it serves from local vendors, the Enoteca will bring in much of …

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North Shore's New BYO Bistro Starts Drawing Crowds

Second Street Bistro owner considers expanding space.

Though Second Street Bistro has only been open for a few weeks, it hasn't taken long for the North Shore's first BYOB restaurant to build a following. "We had to turn people away last Friday and Saturday," Bobby Dubin, the owner of the Highland Park restaurant said last week. And on a Tuesday, typically a slow night for any restaurant, Dubin said all but two tables were taken. "They're going nuts over the food." The food is certainly novel. The menu emphasizes locally grown, organic meat and produce and chef Michael Gottlieb stresses a philosophy of simple foods with creative preparation. What's available in the restaurant varies depending on the food that's available to the restaurant, but current hot commodities include cauliflower soup…

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Highland Park's Carlos' Restaurant to Close

30-year-old fine dining restaurant will reopen as Nieto's.

Carlos' Restaurant, the 30-year-old Highland Park fine dining establishment headed by husband and wife team Carlos and Debbie Nieto, will close its doors on New Year's Eve, according to Make It Better. The couple, who also own Café Central and Happ Inn, will reopen the restaurant as a more casual space called Nieto's. Debbie Nieto told Make It Better the new place would include a "much lower price point" and that they want to "bring in everyone… to help us with the next chapter." "People love the restaurant when they come," Nieto said, "but with the economy… a lot of people are hurting right now, and it carries down to everyone." Carlos' isn't the first Highland Park restaurant to make a change based on the economy and its effect on people…

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