The Peasantry Closes After Five Years in Lincoln Park

After five years in Lincoln Park, chef/owner Alex Brunacci has closed The Peasantry. The restaurant served its final guests last week. It marks the second closure for Brunacci this year, as he shuttered Franks ‘N’ Dawgs in June.

The Peasantry’s tagline was "elevated street food," and their lamb meatballs and duck items were popular. It eventually became a venue for a few gourmet sausages inspired by the Franks ‘N’ Dawgs menu.

Brunacci wasn’t immediately reached (See update below), but in recent months it had been a struggle for the restaurant. Vacant storefronts and construction nearby had contributed to slowed business. Brunacci had mentioned that the razed diner across the street at Schubert and Clark snarled foot traffic. The Edge closed earlier this year, and construction crews only recently finished erecting a new building on the site, a Banana Republic outlet store. Likewise, the closure of a nearby Best Buy also meant fewer potential customers were frequenting the neighborhood.

Franks ‘N’ Dawgs experienced a bit of a comeback over the summer as one of the food vendors for Lollapalooza. It’s unclear what will replace The Peasantry, but look for something new to open in December.

UPDATE: Brunacci emailed back in, and wrote that declining business and the desire to be with family contributed to the shutter.

"We've been very fortunate to be able to do that, mostly due to our phenomenal customer base," he wrote.

He said he's going to travel in the immediate future, but isn't sure about a new restaurant. He sold restaurant about a week ago:

"The restaurant industry is extremely demanding and all consuming and at no point in time have I taken a few minutes to plan for the future. My focus remained on the restaurant(s) until the very last day. Over the next couple of months, I will begin to make plans and put these plans into action but for now, after six wonderful years on being in the industry, I'm planning on some R&R!!"