Plan for tavern at Gurnee-area strip mall dies

At least 50 Gurnee-area residents were prepared Monday to contest a plan for a tavern possibly offering video gambling in their neighborhood, but apparent changes in the proposal suddenly ended a public hearing.

What was described in official documents as a tavern planned for a strip mall went before the Lake County zoning board of appeals Monday for a hearing at Warren-Newport Public Library in Gurnee.

Suchit Shah's Anya Inc. was seeking a conditional use permit to open a bar in a vacant space in Delaware Commons, on Washington Street at Old Walnut Circle in unincorporated Lake County.

But when Shah testified Monday before the advisory panel, he said his businesses would be a "cafe" primarily serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a selection of craft beer and wine, not a tavern with alcohol as the main revenue source. He said some video gambling machines in a designated area would help bring revenue to the new business.

"Gaming is like a supplement," Shah said.

After the zoning panel questioned whether the plan before them really was for a tavern, attorneys representing Shah and the mall huddled with Lake County officials during a break. Afterward, Delaware Commons attorney Robert Masini withdrew the conditional-use permit application for a tavern so the cafe proposal could undergo further study.

Board member Gregory Koeppen said it remains to be determined if Shah can open a cafe in Delaware Commons without a special permit from the county. He stressed the advisory panel would not have a role in addressing a liquor license or a video gambling permit for the cafe.

"As we understand it, the proposal that came in this afternoon was significantly different from the proposal that was originally presented to (Lake County) staff over the last couple of months," Koeppen said. "The use that came in today was more of a cafe use, not a tavern use."

Donald Wuethrick, vice president of the Delaware Crossing Homeowners Association, said residents will stay on top of whatever proposal materializes.

Several Delaware Crossing homes have red, white and black parkway signs reading: "Say no to the bar and gambling in our neighborhood."

"We'll come back," Wuethrick said. "We don't need gambling in the neighborhood. We don't need it."