Harry Caray's, Rosemont hotel come to truce
The Holiday Inn & Suites in Rosemont has withdrawn a request for gated parking after Harry Caray's Restaurant Group CEO Grant DePorter argued it would deter patrons from his restaurant.
Hotel officials were due in front of the Rosemont zoning board Tuesday to seek permission for controlled access gates but instead withdrew their application at the last minute after a meeting with DePorter.
Harry Caray's leases a 7,800-square-foot space on the first floor of the hotel, at the southeast corner of Higgins and Mannheim roads.
"I met with them and I think they will explore other options," DePorter said Tuesday. "They were sensitive to my views."
DePorter told zoning board members last month that a gated parking lot next to the restaurant could "essentially wipe us out," since other restaurants within hotels have suffered under similar circumstances.
Hotel officials were seeking controlled access gates since they said some people who stay at the neighboring Sheraton Chicago O'Hare Airport Hotel, which has a gated lot, were parking in the un-gated Holiday Inn lot. Holiday Inn also wanted the village's permission to rent out long-term parking spaces for travelers using O'Hare International Airport.
The hotel's general manager, Juan Pablo Laginia, previously said restaurant-goers would have been able to park for free inside and outside the gated area.
Laginia didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Ron Holtman, the zoning board chairman, said Holiday Inn could later renew its request to the village, but in the meantime, the hotel is required to remove existing curbs and poles that have already been installed for the gates.
Holtman said there was a mix-up between the hotel and its vendor about which would get the required village permit - and neither did. The way the curbs are situated prevents fire trucks from properly accessing the lot, he said.