Mount Prospect serves ‘triangle’ restaurants with valet parking

Parking is limited for restaurants in Mount Prospect’s “triangle,” bordered by Busse Avenue, Main Street, Northwest Highway and Wille Street.

In March, the Village of Mount Prospect came to their aid with a pilot program providing complementary valet parking service to The Prospect, Station 34 and the Mount Prospect Public House. The village board reached consensus on Tuesday to continue the service for another year.

Five Star Valet, which is run by Mount Prospect resident Michael Munao, shuttles the vehicles. The service operates Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight. The cost to the village is budgeted at $48,000 annually out of the general operating fund.

Pickup and drop off is in front of The Prospect at 18 W. Northwest Highway. Cars are parked in the Metra lot to the west of Main Street and south of Northwest Highway. If that is full, the backup is the village’s parking deck on Emerson Street adjacent to village hall and the Mount Prospect Public Library.

Community Development Director Jason Shallcross said there are just over 60 parking stalls serving the three restaurants. Between one and one-half of the restaurants alone would command more than 50 stalls.

Since it started in March, the average number of vehicles valet parked per weekend has been more than 100.

“Valet parking has been huge for The Prospect,” said restaurant co-owner Nick Papanicholas Jr. “The clientele and the demographic of our customers want to have the convenience of coming in right in front of the restaurant.”

Joe Irick of Station 34 at 34 S. Main St., said the valet helps, especially when his restaurant holds private events.

Shallcross said the program has helped two of the newer eateries gain footing.

Village Trustees Colleen Saccotelli and William Grossi, however, have raised the issue of the restaurants eventually taking over the service or bearing some of the cost, as well as concern about fairness to other restaurants in the downtown.

“It’s not that much money for places that are making a lot of money on the weekend,” Grossi said. He also pointed out the village has recently added a pedestrian crosswalk connecting the triangle to the Emerson Street garage.

However, Saccotelli said, “I’m really glad that we provided this service, because it's so important to get the restaurants off the ground.”