Wheeling Restaurant Row businesses awarded municipal grants totaling $73,576
Two businesses on Wheeling's Restaurant Row have been awarded municipal grants totaling more than $73,000 for site renovations.
The Old Munich Tavern, 582 N. Milwaukee Ave., will get $50,000, the village board decided Monday. Kilcoyne's Redwood Inn, 342 N. Milwaukee Ave., will get $23,576.
The cash will come from Wheeling's Restaurant and Retail Build-Out Assistance Program, which aims to help local business owners pay for site improvements.
Under the program, recipients are reimbursed for up to half a project's cost.
Old Munich Tavern owner Bill Loumbardias has been updating the interior and exterior of his business since purchasing it in 2018, a village memo indicates.
With the grant money, Loumbardias plans to install a new 600-square-foot deck and a pergola for enhanced outside seating, upgrade the fire suppression system, improve the parking lot, add landscaping and make other changes.
The work is expected to cost $136,000, documents indicate.
During Monday's board meeting, trustees Mary Papantos and Ray Lang praised Loumbardias for the improvements he's been making and for his expansion plans.
"It's going to be great," Lang said.
Officials were similarly excited about the planned improvements at Kilcoyne's Redwood Inn. Owner Joe Kilcoyne wants to improve part of the heating and air conditioning system in the dining area, replace interior doors, paint the interior and make other interior changes, documents show.
The dining room may close for a week while some of the work is being done, Kilcoyne said Monday. The bar would remain open during that time, he said, and outdoor dining service wouldn't be affected.
The work at the Redwood Inn is expected to cost more than $76,245, documents indicate.
Kilcoyne and his family have owned and operated the Redwood Inn since 1971. Officials thanked Kilcoyne for serving the community for 50 years.
"I plan on sticking around for a long time," he said.