Ballydoyle looks to expand into Naperville

A popular Irish pub and restaurant is said to want to fill a downtown Naperville vacancy, but some city officials are hesitant to add another late-night venue.

Mayor George Pradel, who also serves as the city's liquor commissioner, said owners of Ballydoyle, which operates in Aurora, Bloomingdale and Downers Grove, want to move into the former Rosebud restaurant site at 48 W. Chicago Ave.

As Pradel sees it, Ballydoyle owner Phil Cullen faces two uphill climbs when the proposition comes before the city council in late April or early May.

“I like what I see from the ownership perspective but I'm not sure that structure can physically hold all of those people without a $1 million reconstruction,” Pradel said of the site, which was ravaged by a fire in 2010. “But more importantly, we need to decide if we want another establishment along Chicago Avenue. We already have concerns about closing time and having all those people put out on the street at 1:30 in the morning. I don't think anyone's very excited about adding to that.”

Cullen was unavailable Monday, but Pradel said Ballydoyle has requested a late-night permit, which would allow it to serve after 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends

The city has capped the number of late-night permits at 36 and council members would be required to vote on lifting the cap.

“Look, I believe the establishment could be a lot of fun but we have to look at the whole picture of Naperville,” Pradel said. “When do you reach a saturation point and when do you say ‘no?'”