Did Tinley Park connection help bring down Boston Blackie's?

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

I can’t help wondering whether Tinley Park is responsible for the seeming collapse of the Boston Blackie’s gourmet hamburger chain.

The owners of the gourmet hamburger chain and one of its managers were charged today with stealing $1.8 million from at least two Chicago banks in a check-kiting scheme. That’s when you deposit checks from one bank at another bank and help yourself to the money before the new bank finds out the checks are worthless. The new bank is left holding the bag for the missing funds.

Prosecutors also said today that one of the owners, Nick Giannis, 62, was arrested in Detroit while trying to cross the border into Canada. Not good.

Before any of this took place, however, Giannis and his son Chris, 38, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November. At the time, they listed debts of $6.4 million against assets of about $17,000.

A couple of months before that, Boston Blackie’s lost its Tinley Park location when a lender foreclosed on the property in the 6700 block of South Street. The lender claimed in the suit filed in August that the chain owed him $862,000.

The property is now vacant. It used to be home to the Bremen Cash Store, which Boston Blackie’s bought in 2003. The chain originally planned to convert the building into apartments and a Boston Blackie’s restaurant. Then a Carson’s Ribs carryout was added to the plan.

For years, nothing happened. Then, citing safety concerns, the store was demolished in 2008 leaving a gaping crater. After several months, the crater was finally filled in early last year. Then nothing happened until the foreclosure, and nothing has happened since.

As I recall, back in 2003 Boston Blackie’s was a well-respected chain. Its burger was called by some the best in Chicago. Then the Tinley Park location was announced and Boston Blackie’s has been in a downward spiral ever since.

The chain may yet survive, though its immediate prospects are pretty dim. All Tinley Park has to show for its years-long dalliance with the company is a vacant lot. I guess it could have been a lot worse.