Liquor license battle for Hideaway likely headed to court
From the altar of the Valley View Baptist Church, Kane County liquor commissioners rejected a plan to reopen the former Al Capone's Hideaway and Steakhouse Wednesday night. It appears a courtroom will be the backdrop when the final decision comes.
Commissioners used the church for their meeting to allow neighbors of the restaurant one last chance to sway their votes. The arguments, both for and against, were almost all recycled comments from the zoning petition battle involving the business last fall.
Opponents said the combination of alcohol and dark country roads could be disastrous for the children who live in the neighborhood and attend school nearby.
Fans said it would provide jobs and a source of entertainment to the area. The local roads and lack of sidewalks will be a danger with or without the Hideaway operating, they said.
One new piece of feedback came from the Fox River and Countryside Fire/Rescue District. One of the district's co-chiefs said the Hideaway, in its vacant condition, is the biggest fire danger to the surrounding community. Old, empty restaurants are magnets for trouble, said fire Capt. Kevin Tjelle.
"Right now it's a trap for us and our neighbors," he said. "If the building were open and up to code it would take away some of the danger."
But county liquor commissioners were already sold on the concerns of the opponents. Traffic patterns and the odd setting of the business in a residential neighborhood with narrow, hilly roads represent too great a risk to mix in a business that is open late and selling alcohol, they said.
"Maybe this would be a successful enterprise, but I'm afraid it would be at your expense," said commissioner Deb Allan.
Allan and Commissioners Chris Lauzen, Mark Davoust and Joe Haimann all voted "no" on the liquor license.
County board attorney and deputy liquor commissioner Pat Kinnally was the lone "yes" vote.
Davoust was brought onto the liquor commission just last week by Lauzen. Davoust was one of only five Kane County Board members to vote against the Hideaway's zoning petition last fall.
Hideaway owner Jeremy Casiello said last-minute moves like that are why he didn't bother to attend Wednesday's hearing.
"This is Chicago politics coming to the suburbs," Casiello said. "We jumped through all their hoops. The same people who said 'yes' to the zoning when people expressed these same concerns are now saying 'no.' Now, we're going to have to decide what makes sense from a legal standpoint. The whole thing really breaks my family's heart."
Casiello said he's already been in contact with lawyers representing Blackjacks Gentlemen's Club. The club in an unincorporated area near South Elgin has a pending federal lawsuit with the county stemming from its own failed attempt to get a liquor license in the spring of 2015.