Court ruling closes downtown Algonquin eatery
Old friends in Algonquin will have to find somewhere new to meet.
Martini's on Main, a popular eatery that billed itself as a place "where old friends meet," closed abruptly a week ago after an eviction trial that went against owner Lee Simonson.
McHenry County Judge Michael Caldwell ordered Simonson to pay $32,000 in back rent to the building's owner, Tony Bellino, a well-known real estate agent.
Bellino, who also received immediate possession of the building through the ruling, says he already is making plans for the structure in the heart of the village's historic downtown.
"I'm going to be selling the building with the business or I'll sell the business alone - it'll be one or the other, whatever comes first," said Bellino. "I've had numerous calls - it's such a gorgeous location, it's such a beautiful building."
Caldwell also ruled that Simonson owes $125,000 to JMMT Inc., the company he bought the business from in December 2007. Court documents show he paid $25,000 upfront toward the business' $150,000 price tag, but never made another payment.
Bellino sued in August, seeking to evict Simonson and to collect his unpaid rent. According to court documents, Simonson, of Schaumburg, had not paid the eatery's $4,000 monthly rent since May.
JMMT joined Bellino in the lawsuit against Simonson over the money it was owed.
Simonson said he withheld rent because there were structural issues that were not resolved to his satisfaction, namely a leaky roof, a cracked foundation and plumbing problems.
"I said, 'Tony, I'm not going to pay you rent until you fix this building, until you bring it up to snuff,'" said Simonson, who vows to appeal the ruling. "The court system said he does not have to repair the building, which to me, is wrong."
Bellino attorney Bill Hellyer says the laundry list of issues was resolved and had little to no impact on running the restaurant.
"He continued to operate it from June until the business was closed, so it couldn't have been that bad," Hellyer said.
Bellino purchased the 118-year-old building in 2001 and spent $500,000 to renovate it.
He and his daughter, Annamarie Rosales, opened Bellino's Steak and Martini Bar in the building and ran it for two years before selling it after his daughter had a child.
The eatery changed hands and names over the years, until Simonson bought the business in 2007.
Before becoming a restaurant, the building for a few years in the 1990s housed Algonquin's community development offices, said Village Manager Bill Ganek.
Bellino's became a key component to downtown's revitalization and helped draw other business to the historic downtown, Ganek said.
• Daily Herald Staff Writer Charles Keeshan contributed to this report.