Cabana Charley’s Opened it's doors for the first time on thursday, september 28, 2006 under the ownership and operation of diann denault.  Diann has been in the DeKalb area for over 15 years and is the current owner operator of the Sycamore Tom & Jerry’s.  Her dedication and love for the restaurant business began when she was only 13 years old, working for a restaurant in her small hometown.  After graduating college with a business administration degree, her then-current career path brought her to the DeKalb area.  She began working at Tom & Jerry’s in 1994 and became manager in 1998.  Four short years later in 2002, she became the owner of the Sycamore store, shortly followed by the DeKalb store in early 2004.

“I had a dream and I followed it,” says Denault.

Diann’s dreams didn’t stop there.  Her love for the salty ocean air, sandy beaches, swaying palm trees, breath-taking sunsets, and of course enjoying fruity cocktails with friends and family has inspired her to combine that relaxing atmosphere with her obvious love and dedication for the restaurant business.  With this vision, Charley, the fun-loving, care-free pelican was born.  Diann wants every visit to Cabana Charley’s to feel like a vacation for her customers, “My hope is to create a restaurant that will provide excellent service, outstanding food, and a fun, relaxing atmosphere,” she said while planning charley's.

This is a project that Diann had wanted to do for quite some time, and wants all of her customers to know that it's always 5 o'clock at charleys, “Relax, you are here!”

The future looks bright for Diann and Charley, in October of 2007 Diann was contacted by a franchise group in New York.  Innovative Franchise Systems thought Cabana Charley's would be a very marketable restaurant.  She is going through the franchise process with Cabana Charley's Tiki Bar & Grill and looks to open a second location in the Seven Bridges development project in Woodridge, IL hopefully as soon as late summer of 2008.

Click here to see the official
announcement of Charley's!

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