CHICAGO—Lovell's of Lake Forest, IL, a fine dining restaurant that was owned by Jim Lovell, NASA astronaut and commander of the Apollo 13 mission, was recently purchased by NorthShore University HealthSystem. It plans to repurpose the building into a medical facility. The property was originally developed for Lovell's son, who is a chef. For Rick Scardino, the Chicago-based retail director of Lee & Associates and broker who represented Lovell, the transaction seems like part of a growing trend: the fine-dining, wear-a-tie establishments – once so popular with American diners, are now rapidly disappearing from the landscape. GlobeSt.com sat down with Scardino to talk about Lovell's and the fate of these establishments and how real estate professionals can respond.

Q: How has restaurant brokerage in fine dining changed since you started in CRE?
A: I actually grew up in our family restaurant businesses. The last restaurant we had started as fine dining and then midstream we converted it to a family casual format, so I have seen this trend evolving slowly for decades. Fine dining restaurants are becoming scarcer in general as too often they become the favorite destination for special occasions and unfortunately these types of events are not as prominent today as they were in the past. So the flow that is needed to sustain this type of format are disappearing.

Q: What has been the primary factor in driving the change in this market?
A: Economics, time, and casual attire. When the economy tightens people become selective in their shopping and dining choices. In some cases, these choices are eliminated completely. Thus the full serve department store consumer may go the way of a JCP's or Kohl's and a fine dining customer may trend towards a mid-range steakhouse, family-casual chain, or a trip to Costco to pick up the steaks and wine and cook on their own 800' Big Green Egg.