Clucker’s to fly the Plaza del Lago coop

When it closes up shop on Sunday, Oct. 20, Clucker’s Charcoal Chicken will become the latest departure from Wilmette shopping center Plaza del Lago, 1515 Sheridan Road.

The Highwood-based restaurant opened its Wilmette take-out location three years ago but did not make the cut of WS Development, which took over ownership of Plaza del Lago in 2022.

Deb Merdinger, who owns Clucker’s with her husband, Reed, said the Wilmette storefront was on a month-to-month lease for nearly a year while searching for a new space. But it wasn’t to be.

“We just couldn’t find a suitable location,” she said. “We built this store three, four years ago and it’s hard to do it again so quickly. We are just a ma and pop.”

Clucker’s debuted at 405 Sheridan Road in Highwood in 2008 and opened its second location in Libertyville in 2016.

Merdinger said she hopes loyal Wilmette customers follow the business 9 miles north to Highwood, where Clucker’s will fulfill local catering orders and possibly add a delivery option. Merdinger added she is offering jobs to her Wilmette staffers, as well.

Sunday, Oct. 20, is Clucker’s final day in Wilmette, and Merdinger believes the restaurant’s departure will create a void in northeast Wilmette, near several lakefront residential complexes.

“We’ve built such wonderful relationships with customers and with the community, particularly with people across the street, and we’re going to miss them and they’re going to miss us,” she said. “There is a real need for dining options like ours for families and seniors who live across the street.”

Clucker’s was preceded in its Plaza departure by fellow restaurant Rosati’s. Other businesses, such as Char Crews, have also shuttered while shops such as John Plunkett Interiors, Yellow Bird Stationery and Gifts, Hanig’s Footwear, Chantilly Lace and Giggles and Giraffes/La Colonna have relocated — the latter four to downtown Wilmette. John Plunkett Interiors now has a storefront on Green Bay Road in Winnetka.

Surviving tenants at Plaza del Lago include national chains Jewel, CVS and Starbucks and local stalwarts Convito Cafe and Market and Burhop’s Seafood.

WS Development purchased Plaza del Lago in 2022 and is reimagining the property. WS Development President Samantha David told The Record more about plans for Plaza del Lago’s future in an exclusive interview in January; though, the organization has only revealed the name of one future tenant: James Perse, a luxury clothing brand based in LA.

A statement from WS Development reads: “Clucker’s Charcoal Chicken has been a valued part of Plaza del Lago. We respect the Merdingers’ decision to close and are grateful for the years of dedication to our community and guests. While we don’t have any updates to share on new businesses joining the property, we look forward to providing more information in the future.”

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