Buffalo Grove gives Village Bar & Grill one more chance

Tap Room Hospitality, operator of The Village Bar & Grill at the Buffalo Grove Golf Club, has a new lease with the village of Buffalo Grove, which owns the course.

But the success of the one-year agreement will depend on whether Tap Room Hospitality can repay the village the $34,000 it owes in back rent and utility payments, in addition to meeting its obligations over the next year.

The agreement, approved Monday, had been on the table for board approval on Dec. 7, but the vote was delayed when trustees called for stronger protections for the village.

Trustee Jeffrey Berman said the Tap Room has been a concern to the village in terms of meeting its financial obligations and because some complaints have been registered by Village Bar & Grill customers.

Trustee Lester Ottenheimer III said, "I think the village owes an obligation to itself and to its residents not to do business with people that don't want to pay the village."

Tap Room Hospitality entered into the lease in 2004, and Village Finance Director Scott Anderson said it has been a reliable tenant up until about the last year and a half. During that time, he said, it has arranged to make partial payments.

Village Manager Dane Bragg said Tap Room has been unable to generate sufficient cash flow to cover its current liabilities plus the past due amounts.

Bragg said around $20,000 has been paid in the last few months, but added, "Ultimately, I don't have a lot of confidence the operation is going to generate enough surplus" to wipe out the outstanding debt and meet existing payments.

Anderson said Tap Room Hospitality will probably have to find another investor or obtain bank financing.

In the agreement approved Monday, Tap Room Hospitality is required to pay the village six payments of $5,626 beginning in March. Failure to pay those amounts, as well as the monthly rent and utility payments, would be considered a default of the lease. Default would entitle the village to shut them down.

An acceleration clause states that all rent due at the time of default, as well as past due rent and outstanding utility bills, would immediately become due.

Representatives of Tap Room Hospitality did not speak at either the Dec. 7 meeting or Monday's meeting.

Reached by phone, Jim Leo, one of the operators, said the firm is excited about the renewal of the agreement.

"We have been there since 2004," he added. "It's a good neighborhood place, and it's a great golf course." Another Tap Room Hospitality official deferred comment about the financial situation.