"Steady and vibrant" 94 West Steak & Seafood in Orland Park Celebrates 10 years
94 West Steak & Seafood Restaurant celebrates 10th Anniversary
Owner says restaurant is "steady and vibrant"
Orland Park, Il -- Brian Sord is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of his popular steak and seafood restaurant, 94 West, predicting the next 10 years will be even better.
Raised in a restaurant family, Sord opened 94 West Steak & Seafood in 2003 at 15410 S. 94th Avenue in Orland Park at a time when everyone said the economy would make it a real challenge.
But Sord said he used what he learned working side-by-side with his parents, and combined it with one of the best gourmet chefs in the Midwest to create a restaurant that prides itself on serving the best tasting prime steaks and seafood anywhere.
“My parents owned the Candlelight Restaurant which was located at 55th and Spaulding on Chicago’s Southwest Side and was opened in 1957,” recalls Sord, who notes that the Candlelight was famous for its Green Noodles.
“I learned from my mother, Mary, and father, John, that the key to a great restaurant is to serve great tasting great quality food as if you were cooking for your own family. That’s what they did and that’s what we do here at 94 West.”
Sord said that he opened 94 West as a tribute to the culinary talents of his parents, who have both since passed away.
“In addition to serving only the best, I also learned that a restaurant was not just about serving the best food. It was also about how you served the public. You respected them. You treated them like they are a part of the family. You make them feel like they are special and to me, they all are,” Sord said.
Sord said that during his nearly 50 years in the restaurant business at his parents’ side and now with his wife operating 94 West Steak & Seafood, he always took his business responsibilities seriously.
“That’s why I was so disturbed when it was wrongly reported a number of weeks back that I was having financial and mortgage problems at 94 West. It has nothing to do with 94 West. We don’t have any business or property issues there. It was a financial issue involving another property in Will County and Marquette Bank. The bank didn’t want to renew the mortgage on that commercial property. That caused all kinds of rumors and stories about the restaurant 94 west,” said Sord, noting the issues are in the process of being worked out.
“People are asking me if I am closing my restaurants and the answer is no. We are not closing. I expect 94 West to do even better during the next 10 years.”
Sord’s restaurants have been recognized as among the very best by several regional news media.
“When people come to 94 West, they expect and they get the best quality steak and seafood anywhere. Our Sunday brunch is a phenomenal success because of the assortment of food and the quality,” Sord said of the brunch which runs every Sunday from 10 am until 3 pm.
“My wife, Maria, and I understand the concerns that might be out there but the rumors are not true. What is true is that 94 West is the best steak and seafood restaurant in Chicagoland. No one even comes close and the people who say that are our customers. We’re so grateful for their support and I promise that this next decade will be even better than the first.”
Sord says 94 West continues to host and book banquets and private parties, and he stresses bookings remain “steady and vibrant."
