If you’re a Hard Rock Cafe fan at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, you have from now through Halloween to make a visit, because the cafe is going away with plans to replace it with the popular Kankakee Grille brand from South Bend.
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and its Four Winds Casinos have announced today that they will open their popular Kankakee Grille restaurant in place of the Hard Rock Cafe at Four Winds New Buffalo this fall.
The Hard Rock Cafe will close on Saturday, October 31st, and following renovations, Kankakee Grille will open to the public by late 2020. Four Winds Casinos currently has a Kankakee Grille at its South Bend location and the restaurant offers a diverse menu of comfort food with a modern twist that has become a favorite choice among guests. Kankakee Grille at Four Winds New Buffalo will also offer a variety of live music and entertainment, and will feature comfortable outdoor seating as well as access to the Four Winds New Buffalo pool bar.
Frank Freedman, Chief Operating Officer of Four Winds Casinos, says, “We would like to thank Hard Rock International for a very positive working relationship over the last nine years,” and adds, “Four Winds Casinos is well-known for its award-winning food and beverage offerings including our signature Copper Rock Steakhouses, and both Timbers and White Birch Market, which also reside at multiple casino locations. With the success of Kankakee Grille at Four Winds South Bend, and the great live music acts booked by our entertainment team, we felt it was a natural progression to bring our own restaurant concept to New Buffalo. We are excited to introduce this unique dining and entertainment experience to guests that visit our flagship resort.”
Matthew Wesaw, Tribal Council Chairman and CEO of the Pokagon Gaming Authority, says, “The Pokagon Gaming Authority and our casino operations team are very proud of the success of the Four Winds Casinos brand we’ve worked so hard to build over the last 13 years,” and adds, “We feel the addition of Kankakee Grille will provide us with the added flexibility to make changes and further enhance the unique dining and entertainment experiences that have made Four Winds New Buffalo one of the top casino resorts in the country. We look forward to sharing more details about Kankakee Grille at Four Winds New Buffalo, closer to its opening date.”
Kankakee Grille gets its name from the Kankakee River which begins its journey in South Bend, Indiana. The Potawatomi people used the Kankakee River’s rich environment for food, shelter, medicines, and clothing. The name Kankakee Grille honors the Kankakee River and the ancestors of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
