If you grew up near 79th and Laramie, chances are you’ve had a slice at Durbin’s. Earlier this month, the longtime owner, Tom McAuliffe, quietly passed the torch to new owners. But the name, the menu, and the heart of the place will all stay the same.
“I’m relieving responsibility for it, yes, but it’s still going to stay Durbin’s,” McAuliffe said Wednesday. “Just a new owner, everything’s staying the same.”
The restaurant has been operating at 5406 W. 79th St. in Burbank since 1987, when McAuliffe first opened it, and the decision to step back was not easy.
“I’m getting older. I have children running my other businesses, but I’m certainly getting (close) to retirement age,” he said. “A gentleman approached me and wanted to, let’s say, franchise it, even though it’s not a franchise. The idea seemed to work.”
McAuliffe is not walking away completely, “I’ll still be involved,” he said. “I’m just going to kind of semi-retire. My children will be in control of it.”
His four children, two boys and two girls, have been part of the operation since they were teenagers. “They’ve been running the business, helped me run the business at 13 and 14 years old, working part time, through high school and college,” he said. “They’ve been the general managers for a long time.”
The new owners, Joe and Zachary, are no strangers to the restaurant world, They also run Harry’s Long Bar in Blue Island, which McAuliffe says they’ve turned around since taking it over. “They run a nice, successful business,” he said. “And I think they’re going to do the same for us.”
Durbin’s in Burbank is temporarily closed as the new owners work through a few last steps with the village. “They thought they could go right in and open it. We all did,” McAuliffe said. “But there were a couple of things they didn’t get through the village at first.”
Still, the doors should open again soon, and when they do, everything on the menu will be familiar. “Same pizza, same recipes, same flavor, all of that,” he said. “They’re just going to try to improve the business and bring more business in, and that’s great.”
For McAuliffe, it’s a mix of emotions, “This was not my first business, but it was my first Durbin’s. And yes, I felt a little sad,” he said. “But I also felt very happy that it’s going to continue on.”
Part of the restaurant’s legacy is also tied to his late brother, Jim, who helped him start the business and managed it in the early years. “He was very instrumental in making us successful because of his personality,” McAuliffe said.
“He was the day-to-day manager while I still worked my regular jobs. We talked every day of the week, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
Both memories and a connection to the neighborhood remain, McAuliffe said. “We’ve had a great relationship with the community, with Burbank, the mayors and everything. I’ll always have a place in my heart for this spot.”