Suburban restaurant owner threatens to close after fight with mayor

PARK FOREST, Ill. — The owner of a popular barbecue joint said he may close his Park Forest location, after allegedly suffering injuries in a fight with the suburb’s mayor.

Antiwone Hardy is the owner of All-Out Smoke Pit, a Park Forest barbecue restaurant known for its ribs, brisket and more. He’s built a loyal following but now says he’s weighing whether to close.

“We don’t know if we want to stay or leave,” he said. “I feel uncomfortable with the village. We feel very uncomfortable being here.”

That feeling followed a fight with Mayor Joe Woods last August.

Hardy claims what sparked the brawl was the mayor calling Hardy’s teenage daughter an expletive, after she allegedly refused to shake the mayor’s hand.

During an interview with police, Woods denied the allegation. The mayor also declined WGN’s interview requests.

But according to reports and video, obtained by WGN Investigates, from the Cook County Sheriff’s office, the mayor said Hardy’s wife, upset over the alleged comment about her daughter, “pushed him and hit him with her body.”

The altercation occurred outside the All-Out Smoke Pit. And at some point, the mayor said Hardy came outside holding a “machete.”

“I was in shock, at that point,” Woods told police. “I’m like, are you trying to cut me?”

Hardy told police he put the knife down and didn’t use it against Woods.

But that didn’t defuse the situation.

“He shoved me into the truck and came behind the shove and put his weight on me,” Hardy told police.

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During the fight, Hardy said he damaged three lower teeth, which later had to be extracted. He asked the village to cover his medical costs.

There’s no word on whether that will happen, or if Hardy will follow through on his threat to close his restaurant.

At a recent board meeting, Woods said in a public statement that he didn’t want the restaurant to leave.

“If Park Forest loses a business – that’s not good,” he said. “But good things are also happening [in the village].”

Cook County Sheriff’s Police recently closed their investigation into the fight, after both Hardy and Woods agreed not to file criminal complaints.

News of the altercation was first reported in the South Suburban News.

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