After 25 years of one family’s ownership, longtime hot spots Molly’s and Amnesia’s have been sold.

The sale culminates the transfer of ownership from one family to another.

Chris and Mike Carpenter, brothers and former owners of the night spots, officially handed over the businesses to John and Judy Sanfilippo of Palatine on Friday.

The final purchase price was undisclosed.

“For Molly’s, it had to be a lot,” said one Molly’s employee, who wished to remain anonymous.

The Sanfilippo’s three sons, Joe, Jason and Jim, will manage the continuation of operations at both sites and The Bottle Store.

The final transaction came after a long and complicated process. Both parties met for an extended period of time at a closing company in Chicago to secure the deal.

“It was a 10-hour transaction,” Chris said. “It was very complex.”

The transaction included four different real estate parcels and two separate corporations, he added.

The sale marked an end to almost a year of deliberations and negotiations for both families.

“The Sanfilippos approached us several months ago with an offer to purchase,” Chris said. “After long consideration, we decided to sell.”

The Carpenters especially liked the idea of selling to the Sanfilippos because they had three sons managing, just as the Carpenters did when they built Molly’s.

“They have three boys, one of whom is 27,” Chris said. “When we started Molly’s, I was also 27. We’re handing it off to them at the same place we were at when we started.”

Molly’s was named after the Carpenters’ younger sister, Molly.

The Bottle Store, attached to Molly’s, had been open for 10 years before the Carpenters built Molly’s next to it. Chris began working at the Bottle Store at age 15.

The Carpenter brothers, as well as manager Daddio Dailey, went through with the sale because the timing and price were right.

“My brother and I are family men now, and we knew that Molly’s needed to be taken in by younger people,” Chris said.

The long hours, holidays and other stresses of running the business added to their decision to sell.

“We would have liked to stay for another two to three years, but the opportunity was here now,” Chris said.

The Molly’s staff of 105 employees shared mixed feelings about the change.

“Some people are afraid of the change, that the new ownership could bring about harsh restrictions,” bartender Paul Baggett said. “But most of us are optimistic.”

Manager Daddio Dailey reassured concerns of the new ownership not keeping the current staff.

“They’re not going to come in here with a broom and sweep it up,” Dailey said.

The Sanfilippos previously owned the Penny Road Pub in Barrington for more than 30 years. The family does plan to keep the names of both Molly’s and Amnesia.

The first meeting between the new owners and the Molly’s staff of bartenders, bouncers and waitresses will take place Sunday.

Molly’s staff members think the long-running popularity of the name stands on its own.

“It will be Molly’s forever,” waitress Cat Fugiel said.