Rosemont: Let us entertain you
Entertainment is a fickle business, as Rosemont has come to discover.
Proposed projects for its entertainment district near the site of the Rosemont Theatre, where village leaders envision a casino, have come and gone in the two years since officials unveiled plans for the area. A water park resort proposal fell through last year. Rosemont officials on Wednesday announced the end of plans to add John Barleycorn and Phil Stefani Signature restaurants. And talks with an East Coast developer have stopped.
But dropouts haven't derailed the plan so far.
Acting Mayor Bradley Stephens said Wednesday he is fielding interest from Margaritaville, a Jimmy Buffett restaurant. Stephens is familiar with the restaurant, having visited one in Las Vegas featuring a volcano spewing margaritas after a bikini-clad woman jumped in.
Margaritaville officials were scouting Navy Pier a few weeks ago but heard about the success of Rosemont's Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse, which has receipts totaling about $20 million a year, Stephens said. They ventured to the suburb the next day to meet with Stephens and tour the potential site.
There is no deal yet and Stephens expects Margaritaville to look for various financial incentives, including help with costs for construction or site acquisition.
"There's a lot of interest out there, so we can be really picky," Stephens said. "That's a good feeling."
In another change for Rosemont's entertainment district, located off Balmoral Avenue west of River Road, the mega-movie theater, which opened last year, is planning to scale back on movies to make way for a bowling alley. There is no timeline yet for that project.
Muvico's 18-screen theater opened last fall in the area where the village long sought to build a casino. It became the first feature in the entertainment district and boasted the area's first VIP movie seating, with amenities including large plush seats, complimentary valet parking and free popcorn.
Muvico wants to close four screens and expand to the south to accommodate a bowling alley.
"They've said most new theaters are maxing out at 14 screens," Stephens said. "They feel that that's the saturation point unless they put out a new Batman movie every weekend."
Earlier this year, Stephens visited The Cordish Co. and toured one of its projects: a 300,000-square-foot retail and entertainment development built around a row of nearly century-old brick townhouses in Baltimore. But he said Wednesday those talks have stopped.
With gas prices up and plenty of other movie theaters, restaurants and bowling alleys near suburban homes, one restaurant expert questions how an entertainment district in Rosemont will flourish during an economic downtown.
"I just think of the Rosemont area as being on an island," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago's Technomic Information Services, referring to how the area is separated from suburban residents by major highways and O'Hare International Airport. "Some people are scaling back (on spending). So why would people travel to this (Muvico) theater? As much as I love the concept, I will not use it on a regular basis."