By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Vintage 501, a downtown burger restaurant that operated at the corner of State and Second streets for a dozen years, will close later this month.
Owner Matt Idzikowski announced Thursday that the last day for Vintage, 501 E. State St., will be Aug. 12.
“The downtown Rockford community has treated me like family since day one,” Idzikowski said on Facebook. “I know something exciting will happen in that space, so cheers and thank you for the amazing memories.”
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Idzikowski said in a phone interview with the Rock River Current that it was an emotional decision to close the first of several restaurants he has owned, but he’s proud of the success it had.
“That space was numerous things. Every six months it seemed to turn over, and we were a staple in downtown Rockford for 12 years and really kind of helped catapult the next wave of what made downtown Rockford cool. So I’m really proud of that,” Idzikowski said in the interview. “I hope that whatever takes over that space is going to be there for another 12 years to continue the revitalization of downtown Rockford.”
Idzikowski also owns Omakase, about a block west of Vintage at 223 E. State St., and Prime Italian Steakhouse, 6565 Lexus Drive on the east side, as well as the You’re Bacon Me Crazy food truck. Those restaurants will continue to operate.
He said it didn’t make economic sense to continue to run Vintage 501 as the cost of goods and labor continues to rise. Business at the downtown burger joint was down about 30% from its pre-pandemic numbers.
“In a post-COVID economic world with the cost of goods and cost of labor soaring, we have a hard time competing in this environment, trying to serve quality products at a fair price,” he said.
He thanked all the customers and supporters for helping him make his dream of restaurant ownership come true 12 years ago.
“Being part of people’s lives, and a place that they go to, it’s tough to say goodbye to that,” he said.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas