In the volatile restaurant industry, few places attract a following that lasts for more than a few years, much less generations, but Maple Tree Inn in Homewood has earned that distinction, despite having to face challenges that would force many chefs to hang up their toques and close their doors for good.
Maple Tree Inn was founded in 1975 when Beverly resident Charlie Orr opened his first restaurant in a converted Chicago two-flat at 107th Street and Western Avenue. He named his establishment after a towering maple tree on the property, filled his menu with American dishes that were popular at the time, and opened his doors to positive buzz.
After a trip to New Orleans in 1979, Orr’s culinary focus began to shift. Shortly after he returned to Chicago, dishes like jambalaya and gumbo began popping up between the Steak Diane and Mom’s Meatloaf on his menu. “I couldn’t find real etouffee north of I-10, so I made my own,” he told the Chicago Tribune for a 1980 profile.
After more than a decade of success, Orr expanded the Maple Tree Inn in 1994 by moving to an historic, turn-of-the-century building in Blue Island, a move that tripled the restaurant’s seating capacity and cemented his reputation as a first-rate regional chef who was as well known for his ability to schmooz with his customers as he was for his NOLA cuisine, which made him a culinary pioneer. It was in that setting that his daughter, Katie, began learning the business.
“Katie is the reason we’re here,” said her husband, co-owner/Chef de Cuisine Erich Wennberg, who also said he knew Katie was “the one” after just a few months. That was 25 years ago. The couple married in 2016.
“She was born into the business and was the general manager of the restaurant by the time she was 16. She had more experience than most when we purchased the restaurant from her father in 2008. He was ill, and we purchased it before he passed [in 2010], quite frankly to keep the doors open. The business was just not there anymore.”
Wennberg said that while Katie knew what she was doing when they took over the Maple Tree, he didn’t, but he learned, and the restaurant flourished. In 2018, it was included in Open Table’s Top 50 Southern restaurants, and it began to attract a wider clientele. On Aug. 24 of that year, the unthinkable happened when the restaurant and the Wennbergs’ home above the restaurant were destroyed in an electrical fire.
“Our first priority was to keep the staff working,” Wennberg said. “It wasn’t their fault; it wasn’t our fault, but we take ownership seriously. We were responsible for a lot of people’s lives, their income, their stability. We knew we had to find another location, so within two weeks, we found a temporary location in Blue Island and took it over Oct. 1 of that year.
“Katie and I slept there for three weeks while we renovated it, and we opened almost a month to the day after the lease took effect. The majority of the staff were then secure [in their jobs] for a year and we began the hunt to find what we were going to do next.”
Wennberg said he and Katie wanted to rebuild on the site of the burned facility, but the expense was too great.
“We had to make sure the next thing we did with the Maple Tree was sustainable for a long time. I remember calling [Homewood Mayor] Rich Hofeld on his cell at nine o’clock on a Thursday night (while walking around downtown Homewood). He picked up the phone and we talked for 45 minutes. Then he drove over to meet with me. I remember him saying ‘It’s going to be alright. We’re going to find a place with great fit for you.’ I needed to hear that at that point, too.”
Wennberg said that finding a community where everyone feels like family was a priority for him and Katie. He said New Orleans was like that, and Homewood was one of those places, too.
“We knew the owners of the former Triumph site on Martin Square (in downtown Homewood) wanted a restaurant on the first floor and residential above the property they were renovating, so the village hooked us up and we started talking. We had blueprints drawn up and Katie proposed that we go to Michigan for a few days to clear our heads because we had been going nonstop.
“Even before we started talks with the owners of the Triumph, I had called Glenna Elvery, who owned the Cottage on Dixie to see if we could lease her restaurant for a year. They were deciding whether they were going to pause, but Glenna said no [to the lease]. Two days after we got to Michigan she called and asked if we’d like to buy the restaurant. We packed up and I met with Glenna the next day. We toured the building and ended up owning it nine days later.”
Homewood helped support the Maple Tree Inn move to 18849 Dixie Highway using Southgate TIF funds.
Wennberg said they also needed a new house since they had been living in Plainfield, and Katie already had been looking.
“It was important for us that within one year of the fire we had at least a temporary location,” Wennberg said. “So, in 10 days we had leased a temporary restaurant, purchased a new house, and purchased a new restaurant.
“The majority of the staff came with us, and we started doing soft openings (in Homewood) in the middle of January 2020. We launched Feb. 7 and then five weeks later COVID hit. I was very, very thankful in real time and in hindsight to be in Homewood for COVID because it allowed us to do carry-out from this building. On any given day we would order food and not know if we were going to be shut down.”
Maple Tree survived the pandemic, and this year is celebrating its 50th birthday. Wennberg credits his staff for keeping the restaurant going through hard times.
“The number one reason we’ve been successful is because of the people who work with us. We hire people who share our vision. It takes an army to do this, and we’ve literally walked through fire with people. They have the heart to serve people and even the people who just came on since then feel the connection right away. There’s no way we could do this without them.”
