All Sports Pizza Closes Doors After Two Months

A neglected sign said “eperoni $5.99.” The parking lot stood empty. And Rudy Portolesi didn’t really know what to do next.

Barely two months after it opened, All Sports Pizza at 118 W. Francis is closed again. A new sign for “Tres Coronas” is already in place, proclaiming the imminent arrival of a Mexican restaurant.

Portolesi, the former restaurant owner, blames his downfall on an incident that happened at last year’s Pig Out in the Park when the restaurant was called Garlic City.

Gas from a leaking propane tank caught fire and exploded at the Garlic City booth during the food-frenzy festival. Two women - one of whom is Portolesi’s girlfriend - were burned.

After that, business reportedly dropped off.

“People thought Garlic City didn’t know what they were doing in terms of safety,” Portolesi said. “We hung on as much as we could,” he added, “but people were afraid to come.”

He blames the gas company that provided many propane tanks to food booths for overfilling the tank. At the time, Assistant Fire Marshall Terry Scherer attributed the fire to the tank being too close to the booth’s stove.

Heidi Hern, customer representative at Ferrellgas said the matter is still under investigation by an independent investigator. She maintains her company did “everything according to policy.”

Last October, in an attempt to save his failing business, Portolesi gave the building a different look. He reinvented the restaurant as All Sports Pizza.

“I gave it a new face and a new name to see if people would respond to that,” he said. “But (customers) saw the same people there and they did not come in.”

Portolesi said he has given up on the restaurant business, though it is the only business he’s ever known. Now, he is faced with tough questions.

“I have to put my life back together and see what I want to do,” he said. “I’m 41 - that’s not old, but I’m not a young puppy. It’s hard to start over.”

Markets change hands

Two markets in the West Central neighborhood recently changed ownership.

Doug Yi, former owner of Broadway Foods, 2229 W. Broadway, sold the store to Garth Hill in October.

“I just wanted to move on,” said Yi, who is now the general manager of the Appletree Inn, at North Division and East Holland. “Broadway Foods has had just four owners in the last 50 years - it’s a very steady business. I enjoyed running it.”

The store primarily draws neighborhood customers. Hill said he currently has no plans for any changes to the store.

Ownership of the Family Superette, 2501 W. Boone, also changed hands in October. Jin and Kyung Ko had been looking for just the right store for about two years.

“We were interested in running a grocery store and were looking for a family-style one,” Kyung Ko said.

The store offers basically the same type of goods as it has in the past, but Ko said they are willing to expand the selection.

“If we don’t have what someone is looking for, I tell the customers to ask me and we can order it,” she said.

And though the Kos have only three months behind them, business seems to be sailing along.

“So far we’re doing OK,” Kyung Ko said. “I like this neighborhood. The people are like family.”