Why Ye Olde Town Inn is closed

A sign hangs outside of the Ye Olde Town Inn in Mount Prospect's downtown saying, "Closed due to remodeling."

But in fact, on April 11, the village asked the court for a 10-day shutdown of the property, which was granted.

The restaurant has until Monday to get remodeling done or the village will slap it with an emergency shutdown extension due to code violations, village officials said

The building at 18 W. Busse Ave. is in the middle of condemnation proceedings with the village, which wants to acquire it for a downtown redevelopment project.

If these violations -- ranging from structural to plumbing and electrical in nature -- aren't remedied, the village will ask for a preliminary injunction, extending the forced closure, said Village Manager Mike Janonis.

One of the more significant violations has to do with the structural integrity of restaurant's porch, Janonis said.

Richard Valentino, a representative of Tod Curtis, who owns the restaurant, declined to comment.

The village had informed Curtis about the violations, giving him an opportunity to fix them before being shut down, officials said.

But the village was told through one of Curtis' attorneys that the violations would not be fixed unless the village paid for the repairs. Janonis did not comment on why Curtis thought the village should pay. At that point, the village decided to take action, he said.

Curtis owns the building that houses the Ye Olde Town Inn, apartments, offices and retail space at 6-18 Busse Ave.

Despite the condemnation issue, Curtis, through spokesman Frank Salato, has said he intends to pursue redevelopment of his property as Gateway Centre of Mount Prospect, a seven-story residential and retail center.

But the village board has been considering another developer for that site.

Northbrook developer John D. Heimbaugh, president and founder of Heimbaugh Capital Development Corp., last month presented to village officials his vision for downtown, which largely consisted of two seven-story buildings on the 2-acre site, referred to as the small triangle.

The triangle is bounded by Northwest Highway, Route 83 and Wille Street. The development would offer 105 condominiums and between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Earlier this month, the village board agreed to purchase properties from the Meersman family that will be part of the project for $1.275 million and drop eminent domain proceedings. The properties are on Northwest Highway and Busse Avenue.

The village also will pay attorney fees and moving expenses up to $175,000.

The Meersman family owns three properties, 30 W. Busse Ave., where a hair salon operates, 34 W. Busse Ave., the site of a parking lot and 16 W. Northwest Hwy., the family law offices.