Naperville Ribfest closing permanently after 35 years, citing high cost

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (CBS) — The Naperville Ribfest is closing after 35 years, and fans of pulled pork and barbeque chicken are not the only ones impacted, as the decision is costly for some local non-profits.

"I kind of saw it coming, but I felt bad," said Mark Link, owner of Uncle Bub's.

It's no surprise for Link that Naperville Ribfest is no more. He's won multiple awards at the event.

"Once they moved it, during COVID, it was pretty hard. And they had to move the location. So it's very expensive to run an event like this," Link said.

The long-running event was organized by the Exchange Club of Naperville. The closing was announced on the event's Facebook page . The page cited the high costs to hold the event following the pandemic and the event an not being able to generate enough income for it to be profitable."

"It was very hard to get everyone to leave Knoch Park to go to the DuPage County Fairgrounds," Link said.

Link said that when he competed, he wanted to win the trophy and give the money back to the Exchange Club or directly to the organizations.

"To me, a battered woman or abused child, they're kind of helpless, and that kind of touches my heart because I like to help people," Link said.

Ribfest was a huge factor in how the Exchange Club raised millions of dollars for dozens of nonprofits that fight child abuse and domestic violence, like Hesed House in Aurora.

"We're really disappointed just because we know the incredible impact that this event has both at Hesed House for our family shelter and our families that turn to us each day," said Lauren Jernigan, Director of Development of Hesed House.

She said they understand this was a tough decision but rely on all of their community partners, including the Exchange Club of Naperville.

"That's something that they partnered with us on. So that's obviously going to be impacted. I know that they'll continue to support us and other organizations, but that's going to be something that we'll have to figure out down the road," Jernigan said.

Link said if someone does step up and bring back Ribfest, he will compete again.

The announcement post also mentioned that before the announcement, following the expiration of their lease in Naperville, the event was going to be held at a new location in Wheaton at the county fairgrounds.

"It is with great sadness that we will not be able to continue on with Ribfest in the future. We can be proud of the years of service we have given to our town and families. Ribfest, The Grand Prix, three on three basketball tournaments, parades, many service projects, Police and Firefighters of the Year, The Crime prevention calendar, Adopt a Family at Christmas, the holiday trolley Christmas parties, Ribfest pre-parties and after parties, scholarships for students in all of our schools, the 911 ceremony, give a kid a flag to wave. Our impact will live on in our community because of our years of dedication and service to our community."

The event raised millions for child abuse and domestic violence prevention and has given to more than 75 agencies.