The Norwegian Permanently Closes Restaurant; to Reopen As Shop

It's no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for bars and restaurants, especially in Illinois. Every round of new mitigations Governor Pritzker has put into place lately has been a direct hit on a business sector that has been barely surviving since the first of round of COVID closures. The constant retooling, hiring/laying off of staff has proved to be too much for many restaurants, including The Norwegian in Rockford. 

On Saturday, (October 24), The Norwegian announced on Facebook that they were closing their restaurant services when the new round of IL's COVID m itigations begin, and that means as of this morning, The Norwegian as a restaurant is no longer. Before you reach for the glögg and start crying over your kringles, there is a bright side to this very sad story...

We’re reviving the spirit of Snømarket & turning our restaurant into a shop. If you’ve enjoyed our house-made raspberry jam, bread, & akvavit, you can buy em. Pyttipanne sauce, glögg, & kringles? You can buy em. Sandwiches, soups, & hot espresso drinks? You can buy em. The shirts off our backs? You can buy em.

(Only half joking).

Like we promised, we want to fight for this place, & this is our best idea to keep our employees working while keeping down our operating costs. We’ll be spending the next 12 days putting together this market, & we’ll try to open up for distanced shopping on November 5th.

The Norwegian's Facebook post makes it very clear this new venture is their lass 'Hail Mary' pass to avoid full, permanent closure. If you care about the livelihood of local businesses in our fair city, please make every effort to shop small this holiday season. They are depending on us more than ever, and it is our duty not to let them down.

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