Wheatstack restaurant next to Lisle golf course shuts its doors

Wheatstack, a lodge-like restaurant at the Lisle Park District's River Bend Golf Club, has closed.

Park district commissioners are set to discuss the future of the clubhouse restaurant space at their next board meeting on Jan. 18. Previously named The View, the restaurant opened in 2003 inside a stone-and-cedar building with a bar and a deck overlooking the park district’s 9-hole golf course along Route 53.

In recent years, Todd Shamberg operated Wheatstack — A Midwestern Eatery & Tap as an independent contractor under a license agreement formed with the park district.

Wheatstack was known for its signature pot roast and Midwestern comfort food. With a homey stone fireplace, Wheatstack also provided a venue for baby showers, bridal showers, high school reunions and other private events for up to 150 people.

“It’s an amenity that I believe the park district should continue to prioritize,” said Dan Garvy, director of parks & recreation.

But with the golf course closed for the season, Wheatstack served its last meal on New Year’s Eve. The district’s contractor had indicated it had become more difficult financially to make ends meet in the first two, three months of the year, when the golf course isn’t operating, Garvy said. Food and labor costs also continue to rise, Garvy said.

According to a park district Facebook post, its restaurateur “made the difficult decision to cease operation of Wheatstack.”

“We extend our most sincere appreciation to Todd Shamberg and his team for their hospitality over the years and wish them all the absolute best in health & happiness as they embark on new endeavors,” the post read.

The park district developed the restaurant building about 20 years ago to replace an old farmhouse that once served as the clubhouse for the public golf course. The raised deck faces west.

“We do have I think a unique setting and a beautiful view overlooking the course,” Garvy said.

COVID-19, however, dealt a staggering blow in 2020 that resulted in closing Wheatstack’s doors indefinitely, Garvy wrote in a memo to the park board in January 2021. Commissioners that February agreed to outsource restaurant operations.

In its own Facebook post, Wheatstack thanked customers.

“We couldn’t have reopened the restaurant after the pandemic without the support of our returning guests and devoted community. We are beyond humble to have been a place where many celebrated milestones in their lives, met with friends, dined with family, and shared meaningful conversation and cherished moments with one another.”