For over 40 years Wally’s Restaurant on the corner of Northwest Highway and Oakton Street has been serving hot dogs, gyros, fries, and a whole lot else to the Park Ridge and Niles communities. On Tuesday, August 10, Wally’s served one of their final customers.
District 64.
Wally’s, a 2018 entry to the Vienna Beef Hall of Fame, announced it was closing on August 7, and had already committed to deliver lunch to District 64’s New Teacher Orientation at Lincoln Middle School on Tuesday, August 10.
“I was with a team of staff members at New Teacher Orientation when someone shared the news. We were all disappointed and everyone wanted to talk about their favorite treat to order from Wally's,” said Dr. Lori Lopez, Assistant Superintendent, Student Learning at District 64, “We were thrilled and grateful that we were likely one of their last customers!”
Wally’s was originally owned by Wally Lockhart and a partner, until Peter Buhelos became Lockhart’s partner after serving an unofficial internship. When Lockhart decided to move on to other endeavors Buhelos bought him out and became the owner of Wally’s, serving literally thousands of customers over the years.
“Wally's is an institution among District 64 staff,” added Lopez, “Teachers often enjoy Wally's for a Friday lunch and many teachers who live in the Park Ridge/Niles area enjoy Wally's on the weekend. It will surely be missed!”