After a brief employment, the adorable cafe serving sweets at Prairie Crossing closed its doors for good over the weekend.
Fans of Sweet Basil Cafe, a famous breakfast and lunch spot on the west side with gluten-free pancakes, will be knocking on closed doors Monday morning, according to Kathy Duncan, a former manager of the Springfield branch.
Duncan verified that the Champaign shop at 4241 Conestoga Drive closed on Friday, August 23. Duncan declined to answer when asked why the location closed or if employees were aware beforehand.
Sweet Basil Cafe is an Illinois-based family-owned restaurant franchise with locations around the state. Aside from the recently shuttered Springfield site, the cafe also has locations in Rockford, Peoria, Skokie, Hanover Park, and Champaign. It’s unclear whether any of the other stores have closed.
The Springfield restaurant will open in November 2020, replacing the vacuum left by O’Charley’s after it closed in March 2019.
The company has yet to update the Springfield location on its website, but it is still accepting applications for positions at the capital city location.
The cafe was the second business to close in Springfield last week. The Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant at 3150 S. Sixth St. closed abruptly on August 19.