Doors may shut on new Batavia restaurant

BATAVIA – Mike Curry and his daughter, Michelle, stopped at Shawn Michael’s Bistro Thursday afternoon after working up an appetite biking the Fox River Trail.

They were surprised to find the restaurant’s doors closed. Shawn Michael’s Bistro, located at 31 N. River St. in downtown Batavia, opened in mid-May in the building which formerly housed Venice Tavern.

“We used to come here a lot when it was Venice Tavern and before that, Charlie Fox’s Pizzeria,” said Mike Curry, of Aurora. “We didn’t know if they made the pizza the same.”

When Shawn Michael’s Bistro will reopen is not known. A recorded phone message for the restaurant did not give any indication the restaurant has closed its doors.

Calls to co-owner Bob Finnen were not returned. Finnen and his son, Shawn Finnen, had opened the restaurant in the former Venice Tavern, which closed its dining room in November 2008.

Shawn Finnen is a chef who has worked at various restaurants over the years, including the Hilton Garden Inn in Warrenville. The restaurant’s name incorporates his first name and middle name.

The restaurant is scenically located along the Fox River and Fox River Trail.

“It’s unfortunate,” said City Administrator Bill McGrath of the restaurant’s closing. “It’s the nicest place on the river.”

McGrath said the owners have not talked to city officials about why the restaurant has closed.

He ate at the restaurant two weeks ago.

“We liked the pizza, but the service was not good,” McGrath said.