Café la Cave Roof Caves in From Snow

The heavy snowfall Tuesday had a crushing effect on an iconic Des Plaines business early Wednesday morning. Officials believe the weight of the wet snow was responsible for breaking through part of the roof at Café la Cave Restaurant, 2777 Mannheim Road, at approximately 1 a.m. on March 6, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

“It was surreal; it was devastating for us to see this,” said Gus Sutter, owner of Café la Cave, in an interview with Patch. “But we’re working really hard right now to make sure we take care of as many parties as we possibly can; the ones we can’t take care of we’re going to help find other venues.”

An event scheduled for Wednesday night for 300 people was relocated to Fountain Blue Banquets and Conference Center, 2300 Mannheim Road, Sutter said, and clients with events this weekend were all contacted.

“There’s no concerns with any of the deposits; everything will be returned,” Sutter said. “We’re a professional organization that is going to everything exactly right.”

Sutter said all the damaged carpet and padding was removed from the building, and they anticipate reopening on Friday.

“Now that is not at full capacity naturally because we have a whole ballroom that’s completely shattered,” Sutter said.

Sutter said it might be two months before Café la Cave is fully restored.

“The engineers have just given us the all clear for the building,” Sutter said. “Right now we’re in the restoration process on the part of the building that wasn’t damaged.”

Café la Cave opened as a restaurant only in Des Plaines in 1969, Sutter said, and moved into its banquet facility in 1991.

“There’s a lot of history here,” Sutter said.

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