Brandt says Moore is the worst thing that even happened to Brandt's and prefers to focus on moving on.

"I believe in (developer) Joe Edwards and wish him the best," says Brandt.

Original owner Jay Brandt will miss Brandt's Cafe the most. Jay Brandt, who sold it five years ago while still keeping it in the family, says its hard seeing Brandt's Cafe close.

Here's what Jay Brandt had to say:

"Thank you for all your support over the years. It was hard for me to leave five years ago and this now is also very hard. So much of my life happened right there both as a kid growing up spending time in my dad's store and later, miraculously, finding myself running a business in the same location, watching it change from health food store, to a healthy deli to full service dining to jazz club and bar, changing every few years as I changed. What an amazing time.

I never mentioned this before, but when I found out I had to sell Brandt's and move, for my wife's career, I had an opportunity to sell out to a chain food operation. The money was very good, but I hadn't wanted to leave the Loop with a chain in our place, which I thought would have a negative impact on the neighborhood and had hoped that the new owners would have been able to continue a tradition I was very proud of.