Martini bar seeks loan from city to open in Batavia
The owner of Pal Joey's restaurant wants to open a martini-and-wine bar in a former gelato shop in Batavia, with financial help from the city.
John Hamel is asking for $50,000 to remodel the former O' Sole Mio, at 27 N. River St.; Pal Joey's is at 31 N. River.
The new place would be called Bar Evolution. Besides the liquor, it would serve small-plate food.
He would lease the space from Bruce Harris, who is seeking a loan or grant from the city to help pay for changing the windows on the building. He plans to install floor-to-ceiling windows on the front, including a sliding-door window that will lead to an outdoor seating area. However, he has not completed his application for assistance yet, because he has to obtain architectural drawings for the work.
Aldermen are in favor of Hamel's request, agreeing Tuesday to put it on the Oct. 5 city council agenda for a vote.
Half the money would be a grant. The other half would be a loan, payable over five years, with an interest rate of 2.75 percent.
Alderman Marty Callahan said he spoke with neighbors and constituents about the plan, and they favored it. Especially women, he said, including those who had liked another martini-bar proposal in 2013. The women want a low-key, reasonably priced place to gather for drinks, he said. “As I was reminded over and over again, 'happy wives, happy lives,'” he joked.
The previous martini-bar proposal's request for city assistance was frowned upon “due to the noviceness of the person undertaking the project,” Callahan said. In contrast, Hamel has an established record of running successful businesses, Callahan said. Pal Joey's has long had a restaurant in West Chicago.
Hamel received $100,000 worth of assistance from the city, including a $75,000 loan, to open the Batavia outpost in 2012. The city's economic development consultant, Chris Aiston, told aldermen Hamel is current on his payments for that loan.
There is a clawback feature in the proposed agreement. Hamel would agree to keep a food-and-beverage business open in the space for at least 10 years. If the place closes for six months or longer, he would have to pay back 10 percent of the grant plus interest, for each year short of 10 years.
The city's economic development consultant, Chris Aiston, is recommending both requests be granted.
He also recommended Hamel's loan be rolled in to a loan made to him for opening Pal Joey's. Aiston confirmed Hamel is current on his loan payments to the city.
The grant and the loan would be made from money set aside in a fund for economic development in tax-increment financing district 1.
O' Sole Mio opened in April 2013 in a space formerly occupied by the office of Congressman Bill Foster. It closed in November 2014.