Candlelight Inn in Sterling closing at the end of the year

STERLING – One of the most enduring flames in the local restaurant scene will be sputtering out over the next few weeks.

After 56 years in business, the Candlelight Inn in Sterling will be serving the last platter of its signature Chicken George on New Year’s Eve, owner Matt Prescott said Friday.

Don’t start crying into your Jan sauce just yet: Only the Sterling restaurant is closing – the Candlelights in Rock Falls, Lanark and Clinton, Iowa, will remain open, and delivery in Sterling still will be available, Prescott said.

No one is losing their job, either – Prescott, who has nine other bars or eateries and two more in the works, is moving employees around to other positions at his other locales.

Prescott, arguably one of the most successful restauranteurs in the region, cited a growing trend away from sit-down dining for his decision.

“It’s just a different market these days,” he said. “People don’t sit down and eat anymore. People are still eating out, but they’re eating out fast-casual.”

Plus, to make it work, he’d have to feed 20% of Sterling’s population weekly, Prescott said.

“That’s tough,” he said.

It’s definitely a different world than it was when his father, the late Bob Prescott, opened the first Candlelight Inn in Sterling in 1967.

The battered regional favorite that is Chicken George came along in the 1970s, and his mom, the late Jane Prescott, created the dipping sauce that bears her name. It’s the dish that helped the restaurant thrive.

Matt became company president in 2000, the Rock Falls Candlelight Inn was built in 2004, and the third opened in Clinton, Iowa, overlooking the Mississippi River, in 2010. The restaurant opened in the Lake Carroll Golf Course in Lanark in 2021.

Prescott said he’s not sure what he’s doing with the circa 1900, two-story barn at 2907 Locust St., which has been home to the Sterling Candlelight since 1989, or with the vintage accoutrements adorning the walls.

At almost 7,000 square feet, it’s big – and so are its utility bills. He’s asking the staff for ideas of what else can be done there before making a final decision on its fate.

In addition to what will be the three remaining Candlelights, Prescott’s Candlelight Group now also owns the Palmyra Pub & Eatery in Dixon; Corner Tap and The Industrial, which is inside his McCormick Event Center in Rock Falls; Brink’s and Lucky Lucy’s Bar & Slots in downtown Sterling; and Barnacopia in Polo.

He’s not yet ready to announce the two new ventures but said he should be within the next three months.

In the meantime, if you want one more shot at lunch or dinner in the homey old red barn, you’d best get crackin’.

And don’t expect to get seated on New Year’s Eve without a reservation – it’s already one of the busiest nights of the year, Prescott said.