Smooth Fox in Elgin being evicted
It looks like the end of the line for the Smooth Fox in Elgin, and any future bar at that location can expect increased scrutiny by the city.
Owner Justin Hodge, who owed $9,000 in back rent, got an eviction notice last week for his bar at 51 S. Grove Ave., according to Kane County sheriff spokesman Pat Gengler.
Hodge and the landlord's attorney, Robert Smith, did not return requests for comment Monday.
A Kane County judge ruled May 17 that LV Management Inc. could immediately assume control of the bar's premises. Hodge asked the judge to reconsider, but that motion was dismissed after Hodge failed to show up for court June 2, records show.
The bar also is facing a lawsuit filed May 26 by ComEd, which says it is owed $8,838.32 in unpaid electricity bills, according to Kane County court records. The matter is due in court June 29.
Hodge's legal troubles also included lawsuits over unpaid bills filed in Cook County by Breakthru Beverage Illinois and Delaware-based US Foods Inc. Hodge owes the city more than $1,500 for participating in Nightmare on Chicago Street last October.
The bar's liquor license expired April 31 after Hodge didn't apply for a renewal. He at first vowed to stay open but closed in early May.
Hodge then petitioned the city to create a new type of liquor license for Smooth Fox, one that would allow concerts and other events. The liquor control commission had begun to discuss the issue, but it's all moot now, Mayor David Kaptain said.
"He can't hold a liquor license without having a one-year lease, so that pretty much takes him out of business from our liquor commission standpoint," Kaptain said.
"I think it's a matter of a guy who had grand visions of what he wanted to do, but he waded into water that was too deep for him," Kaptain said. "He had no experience running a restaurant, and that's a big change."
Kaptain said he wants any future business owner that hosts live music there to do sound level tests - and possibly soundproof the building - to ensure that neighbors aren't disturbed late at night.
Residents of the Fountain Square On the River building across the street lodged several complaints about noise from and fighting outside the bar. Any future bar owner will have to be mindful of nearby residents, Kaptain said.
"From now on," he said, "those ears will be more sensitive than they ever have been."
• Daily Herald staff writer Harry Hitzeman contributed to this report.