Table of Contents
Family-owned wholesaler Chicago Suburban Lumber Sales, Forest Park, Il., is closing after 80 years.
Chicago Suburban Lumber had planned to close its doors later this summer, but the property was put on the market earlier than expected after co-owner Tim Romano passed away of cancer in February. He was one of 13 children of Joe Romano Sr., who founded the independent wholesale business in 1946.
Through the 1970s, Chicago Suburban Lumber was known as one of the region's top redwood suppliers. In the 1980s, it expanded into cedar and industrials.
Romano Sr. worked at the business until months before he passed away in 2015, when he was 93. His older sister served as the firm's accountant from the day it opened until she retired the same day as her brother.
