The biggest winter storm to hit the Chicago area in two years may have proved too much for a northwest suburban banquet hall.
A portion of the roof of Cafe La Cave in Des Plaines caved in just before 1 p.m. on the 2700 block of Mannheim Road. Snow poured into one wing of the building as the roof gave way overnight, leaving a gaping hole at the banquet hall's southwest corner.
Des Plaines Fire Department officials said no one was in the building at the time, and no injuries were reported. The building passed a structural engineer's report Wednesday after the collapse.
The banquet hall, located not far from O'Hare International Airport, is a family owned business that hosts weddings as well as a big Easter brunch.
Cafe La Cave owner Kim Sutter said the roof collapsed over their Baby Grand Ballroom.
Owner Gus Sutter said a graduation dinner celebration for Worsham College for 300 people was planned for Wednesday night. It will be re-located to a nearby banquet hall.
"Thank God there wasn't an event going on," Gus Sutter said. "[The roof] is just a thing. A thing that can be replaced."
Other than the room where the roof collapsed, the building will be back open by Friday.
