Business & Tech

Front Street Cantina Celebrates First Anniversary

The restaurant will celebrate one year in downtown Lemont with live music, raffles and food/drink specials all day Saturday.

Lemont's will celebrate its first year in business this weekend with a special anniversary event.

The Mexican restaurant and bar, located at 319 Front St., will host its One-Year Anniversary Celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday. The event will feature a $3 Tacos Campos special, a number of drink deals ($5 Mexican Bulldog margaritas, $3 Tecate bottles, $4 craft beers, $4 house margaritas) and live music from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The celebration will also include an all-day raffle, which will benefit Hope and Friendship Ministries, a local non-profit.

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Front Street Cantina is located along the Illinois and Michigan Canal in Lemont's Front Street Lofts. It was opened Oct. 18, 2010, by co-owners Ben DeVee and Dan Tacone.

“This location in downtown Lemont along the canal has been key to our success,” DeVee said. “It’s a great new-construction space that fit all of our needs in a charming downtown setting. We look forward to celebrating and having many more years with our great customers.”

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Tacone said he and DeVee are happy with the restaurant's overall performance in its first year.

"Things got off to a slow start in the fall and winter, but summer really met our expectations," Tacone said. "Our patio is something that no one else really has in downtown Lemont, so I think it gave us a boost. We also had bands every Wednesday during the car shows, so I think we helped each other out."

During its first year, Front Street Cantina played host to a number of "local celebrities," who tended bar to raise money for community organizations. The idea came about from one of the restaurant's waitresses, Amy Kelly, who says the fundraisers have raised about $14,300 to date.

"We've had everyone here, from the Lemont Lions to the Rotary Club," Tacone said. "It was great exposure for us, but the organizations also saw a huge benefit."

Tacone said everyone at Front Street Cantina is looking forward to more anniversaries to come.

"It was a roll of the dice for us to open down here, but we're happy with the way things are going," he said. "Now that we have established more of a customer base, I think the next year will be really exciting."

Front Street Cantina's First Year, By the Numbers

Amount raised for charity: $14,300

Tacos: 17,512

Sodas: 15,231

Burritos: 4,529

Dos Equis drafts: 2,000

Corona bottles: 3,000

Margaritas: 11,000

Combination Dinners: 5,000

Fried ice creams: 700

Churros: 900

Sides of sour cream: 4,200

Sides of BBQ sauce: 2

Nachos: 2,000 nachos

Veggie chimichanga (not on the menu): 1


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