Hoffman Estates renews contract for beer garden despite unpaid fees
Hoffman Estates officials Monday approved a two-year contract with two optional one-year extensions for the German Beer Garden on the Village Green, despite the business still owing the village $10,638 in fees from last year.
The beer garden operated by Dasbiergarten LLC has generally been considered a popular and successful amenity for the Village Green, where Hoffman Estates' summer concerts are held, for the past three years.
Village officials consider the unpaid fees at the end of the last two years to be the result of a seasonal business's cash flow issues once it shuts down for the winter - but something business owner Andrew Hartman intends to make up soon after reopening in mid-April.
Hartman has asked the village to draw on his $6,611 in deposits on file, while putting up the business' equipment as collateral for the rest he owes.
He also agreed to pay the village the remaining balance of $4,027.30 by May 1, and then replenish the required deposits by June 15.
Hoffman Estates officials credit the Beer Garden at 5510 Prairie Stone Parkway with attracting new patrons to the 59/90 Entertainment District and providing a gathering place for both village residents and employees of the Prairie Stone Business Park without risking a penny of the village's own money.
"He had a good year," Hoffman Estates Economic Developer Kevin Kramer said of Hartman's operations last summer. "His sales grew."
Another change to the new contract is that the beer garden will pay a flat monthly fee rather than a commission-based fee. While this is expected to be easier for the business without significantly changing the amount owed the village, it won't necessarily avoid the end-of-season cash flow problem, Kramer said.
Hartman was unavailable for comment after the village board's unanimous approval of the contract Monday night.