Road House closes in downtown Elgin
The Road House in Elgin is no more.
The beleaguered bar and grill and fight club that has occupied one of the most prominent - and snake bit - locations in the downtown, closed its doors Monday.
The Road House Bar and Main Event Elgin opened in December, filling a void created when Prairie Rock Bar and Grill shut down on Feb. 28, 2009, after 13 years at 127 S. Grove Ave.
Business owner Ed Mascari, an employee and landlord Mike Origer loaded up the remaining stock of liquor late Monday morning before the locks were changed.
"I'm closed for good," Mascari said in a phone interview. "My end of it is done. The final straw came when the city reneged on the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money they promised me initially. They led me down the yellow brick road but never came through with anything."
Last fall, city council members unanimously granted the Road House a 4 a.m. liquor license, the latest in the city other than the Grand Victoria Casino, and the facility opened in December, hosting rock bands and mixed martial arts events.
But over several months, excitement turned to consternation as people in nearby luxury townhouses complained about noise from music emanating from the building, along with patrons leaving at late hours and being disruptive to the neighborhood.
"We thought it would be something that would fit in with downtown. Hindsight is 20-20," said Councilman Robert Gilliam, who served on a committee to help rewrite downtown noise guidelines. "It was almost a lose-lose situation when we got into it. Now that it's over, we want to make sure the next time it's not an issue."
Mascari said Origer is a 10-percent owner in the business and might try to reopen it eventually. Origer could not immediately be reached for comment.
"The venue is very viable. We had a good beginning," said Mascari, who noted summers can be slow because people are outside drinking. "That first year is the hardest."
Mascari said that Schock orally promised the Road House $250,000 in funding from a special fund set up to spur downtown redevelopment.
Mascari said eventually the number was scaled back to $109,000 and then he was told he had to apply for grants for facade improvements and interest rate reductions.
Schock said that promise "never happened."
"That conversation never took place. There were never any amounts (promised). It was always tied to eligibility for programs," Schock said, adding, "I was surprised he opened in this economy, to be completely honest. It's tough out there. I'm certainly disappointed he had to close."
Mascari estimates he invested $850,000 in the failed venture. "I spent that money in good faith," he said. "There was zero support from the city of Elgin, and that's a shame because we got nothing but accolades and compliments. We ran into nothing but obstacles. It's too bad."
The Prairie Rock faired better in terms of financial support from the city. It got a $220,000 incentive to open in 1995 and, when the business was on the rocks in 2001, got a grant of $134,000 from the city to stay open.
Councilman David Kaptain, who will square off against Schock for the mayor's seat next spring, said the Road House was the wrong business for that location and residents were extremely tolerant.
"We need to re-look at what is our vision for downtown," Kaptain said. "We should have thought about it a little bit more. Next time, I'm definitely going to do that. I learned my lesson."