Elgin council puts brakes on Italian restaurant concept for Porter's Pub
The operator of Porter's Pub on Bowes Creek Country Club golf course in Elgin wants to turn it into an Italian restaurant, but the city council put the brakes on renewing his contract, citing complaints from patrons.
The golf course and the restaurant at 1250 Bowes Creek Road are owned by the city. Joe Carlucci has operated Porter's Pub, which is open to the general public, since 2012 under an agreement renewed in 2015.
City council members said they would like city to conduct a residents' survey about the restaurant's service and get feedback on the Italian concept.
Carlucci didn't respond to requests for comment Monday.
Carlucci is proposing rebranding the restaurant as "Gianni's Cucina Italiana" under a lease renewal from January 2020 to December 2023. The current agreement with Carlucci states the city will get 5% of all pub revenues exceeding $1.1 million per year, but that threshold has never been hit, city officials said. The new agreement calls for $12,000 annual base rent starting in 2022.
The city council was scheduled to vote on the lease renewal at its committee-of-the-whole meeting last week, but tabled the matter after Councilwoman Tish Powell said there have been complaints about Porter's Pub.
"Based on some feedback I have received from residents that live out in Bowes Creek and even feedback from staff, there continue to be service issues out at Porter's Pub, and complaints about poor service, complaints about the food," she said. "I am hesitant for us to move forward with a three-year agreement without any type of plans for how we are going to police and make sure the service issues are going to be taken care of."
Mayor David Kaptain and council members Rose Martinez, Carol Rauschenberger, Corey Dixon and Baldemar Lopez agreed to table the vote. Councilmembers Terry Gavin, Toby Shaw and John Steffen voted against that.
Councilwoman Rose Martinez said she, too, is aware of complaints about Porter's Pub, including from golfers who said they lost time during play because there wasn't enough restaurant staff to get their orders.
City Manager Rick Kozal said the city's director of operations, Mike Lehman, is aware of the concerns and "has been quite successful with managing these operations." The golf season just ended so Lehman will give the council his input regarding golfers' feedback.
Powell said that, while she's glad that Carlucci is proposing a rebranding and new menu, "I would hate for them to put in something like this and it's not what people are interested in out there," she said.