Auf wiedersehen: After 28 years of culinary showmanship, Chef Karl (no one calls him Karl Beckmann) is shuttering his Edelweiss Inn on Park Avenue in Libertyville. The restaurant’s reputation had been built on ethnic dinners and prepared-while-you-watch haute cuisine lunches. Chef Karl had tried adapting the menu in recent years to reflect changes in people’s eating habits, but with little success.
“The chain restaurants make it hard to stay in business. When you hear how even McDonald’s has problems fighting off competitors, think of the problems an individual has to stay in business,” he said. “I play poker, and I know when to hold and when to fold.”
But Chef Karl is not ready to hang up his apron. After saying auf wiedersehen sometime this fall to the house that was both restaurant and residence, he will look to turn his talents to the corporate and banquet business. “There is a lot out there,” he said. “It just has to be the right fit.”