Company behind Skokie restaurant, and several others in area, files for bankruptcy

Related entities that own four area restaurants, including one that has operated in Skokie for more than 60 years, filed bankruptcy petitions last month as the businesses face mounting financial pressures.

Josephine’s Restaurant Inc., doing business as La Rosa Pizza, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections on Jan. 20, public court records show.

According to the records, the carry-out Italian-food eatery, 4012 Golf Road in Skokie, is nearly $100,000 in debt; though, that does not mean the restaurant is destined to shutter.

“La Rosa is open and the plan is for it to remain open,” said Scott R. Clar, an attorney who represents Josephine’s Restaurant Inc., according to court documents.

George Patrick Fowler is listed in the records as the president of Josephine’s Restaurant and other debtors doing business as Bluestone Evanston, Firehouse Grill and Candlelite Chicago.

Fowler posted on LinkedIn in January 2025 that his Candlelite Hospitality had acquired La Rosa, becoming the pizza shop’s third owner since 1957.

In the post, Fowler wrote that he grew up in Skokie and Evanston and has fond memories of grabbing a “hot slice and a Coke” from La Rosa.

“When the opportunity to adopt La Rosa into our family of restaurants arose, it didn’t take long to make it happen,” he wrote. “They have a hardworking staff, loyal customers, and a robust Italian menu which includes a fantastic thin-crust pizza.”

As first reported by the Evanston RoundTable, Bluestone Evanston, Firehouse Grill and Candlelite Chicago also all filed for bankruptcy protections on Jan. 20. Bluestone and Firehouse Grill are located in the neighboring suburb, while Candlelite is in nearby Rogers Park. 

The four businesses’ “voluntary” bankruptcy filings list them as affiliates to La Rosa Pizza’s pending case. Two other “single asset real estate entities” from which Bluestone and Firehouse Grill operate — 1932 Central LLC and Station Two LLC, respectively — also filed for bankruptcy as affiliates. 

Court records state that all six entities are “owned and/or controlled” by Fowler.

Fowler intends to “move for joint administration of the cases, and possibly substantive consolidation, due to common ownership, common creditors and multiple intercompany transactions,” according to La Rosa Pizza’s statement of operations. 

“The Chapter 11 case was filed due to increased costs, necessitating the Debtor to obtain high interest loans, which generated frequent payments to merchant cash advance creditors, and also due to post-Covid effects,” the statement says.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings generally allow businesses to reorganize their financial obligations, like the terms of their loans, through a court-approved plan so they may secure lower interest rates and fixed repayment timelines while continuing operations.

La Rosa Pizza’s bankruptcy filing, entered into the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, shows the restaurant has unsecured claims with six different creditors. The vast majority of its debt, $97,772, is owed to two private lending companies. 

In comparison, Candlelite owes $565,515 across 14 creditors, Bluestone Evanston $890,198 across 14 creditors and Firehouse Grill $1.06 million across 17 creditors for a combined debt of more than $2.6 million. 

La Rosa Pizza’s Facebook page states it has been “serving up family-recipe pizza since 1957” to Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette and parts of Glenview.

Court documents show Fowler’s company, Josephine’s Restaurant, incorporated in October 2024.

Bluestone opened in Evanston in 2004 and The Firehouse Grill has been in business “for decades,” the RoundTable reported. 

Candlelite Chicago, what the restaurant’s statement of operations describes as a “longtime favorite in the Rogers Park Community,” incorporated in August 2002. 

Court records show that Clar entered a motion on Feb. 9 for the six bankruptcy cases to be consolidated into one jointly administered case. A judge granted that motion.

A “meeting of the creditors” is scheduled to then take place on Feb. 26. Representatives for the debtor must attend to be questioned under oath. 

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.