UPDATED: The Vault Opens in Downtown Lemont

The long-awaited Vault Café and Bar opened its doors on Canal Street this week, boasting a large selection of food and drinks and a nod to Lemont's rich history.

The concept for the restaurant comes from the building's former life as a bank, which was robbed in 1929. Inside, patrons can see the original vault behind the bar, as well as the wall furnishings and ceiling decorations from the start of the 20th century. The bar replaced the original teller windows.

After acquiring photos of the bank from the , Vault co-owner Jim Sulemani said the images will be hung around the restaurant to present history to the patrons.

“History makes it different,” said Sulemani. “There are not many places like these around here.”

Sulemani and his brothers, Bach and Al, opened the restaurant together and have been preparing for its opening. Though a date for the grand opening has not yet been set, the restaurant officially opened for business Monday, according to its Facebook page.

According to Sulemani, the Vault will attempt to attract those looking to dine in a chic setting with affordable prices on the menu.

“It’s upscale, but not very expensive,” he said. “We want everybody to feel comfortable with our prices.”

As for the food, the recently hired master chef is working on creating a short, one-page menu with quality food, including gourmet pizzas, paninis, wraps and sandwiches, as well as fried foods, such as jumbo buffalo wings, chicken tenders and beer ball pretzels. The diverse menu is family-friendly, said Sulemani, while the bar will be open for the adults who are looking for a variety of drinks.

Though Canal Street, in recent years, has not been known for doing well financially, Sulemani said the lack of business is not a deterrent, but rather a goal for the Vault, as he hopes the café and bar will bring residents back to the strip. 

“We want to liven the town a little bit,” he said. “I think people will start to catch on and bring more people back over here. It’s time for change.”

Though this is the first business run by the brothers, Sulemani said they have received plenty of guidance from their family and have many ties to residents in the Lemont area that will be instrumental in supporting the restaurant and helping it reach more customers.

“Once word goes around, I really think it’ll bring in local people and people from the surrounding areas,” he said. “I appreciate that because we’re trying to work with everybody, and they’ve all been great.”

Still, starting a new business has been hard for the Sulemani brothers.

“We’re just trying to make it like everyone else,” Sulemani said. “It is hard to try a lot of things on our own. We made the decisions. It was learning experience.”

The café and bar already found a master chef but is still in the process of finding bartenders, waitresses and other cooks. During the past week, applicants have been trickling inside, submitting plenty of applications and resumes for the brothers to look through.

Most of all, Sulemani said the Vault will be a way to bring the town back together and for him and his brothers to do what they do best. 

“We want to make sure it’s perfect for everyone in Lemont,” he said. “It’s time for change. We want to become successful and to please our customers. Pleasing and helping people is what we like to do.”

The Vault, 308 Canal St., is open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. - midnight; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. - 3:30 a.m. The kitchen is open until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information, visit www.vaultcafeandbar.com or call 1-630-312-8380.