Glenview approves deal for a Ballyhoo restaurant
Glenview village trustees Tuesday unanimously approved a purchase-and-sale agreement for a Ballyhoo restaurant on Glenview Road.
“Usually when we have this many people in the audience, the pitchforks are hidden underneath the seats,” said Trustee Adam Sidoti.
There were no pitchforks on Tuesday.
Discussion of a purchase-and-sale agreement with Ballyhoo Hospitality to build and operate a restaurant at 1739 Glenview Road was met with numerous rounds of applause.
When trustees approved the resolution, many of the people seated in the board room responded with a standing ovation.
The 10 public speakers' comments likewise were applauded. The lineup included Chicago restaurateur and Glenview resident Nick Moretti, Glenview Public Library Director Lindsey Dorfman, former village Commissioner Allan Ruter, and Geraldine Brown from the Friends of Downtown Glenview.
“This is a unique opportunity to place Glenview on the map as an emerging North Shore community focused on expanding our downtown business district, promoting overall economic growth and satisfying our appetite — pun intended — for new restaurant developments,” said Glenview Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Meghan Kearney.
Other comments made clear some of the tax dollars Kearney talked about keeping in Glenview had been spent in Ballyhoo restaurants elsewhere, such as Pomeroy in Winnetka and Sophia Steak in Wilmette.
“You're probably the preeminent restaurateur in Chicago right now,” Trustee Tim Doron suggested to Ballyhoo's husband-and-wife co-founding duo Ryan and Anna O'Donnell.
No specific restaurant has been assigned to the roughly 6,000-square-foot parcel at 1739 Glenview Road, but the agreement will cinch the brick and mortar portions of a “spark site” that came out of the Glenview Connect process, the south side of the 1700 block of Glenview Road.
Starting with the February 2022 purchase and subsequent demolition of the former Scot Cleaners to create more parking, the purchase-and-sale agreement with Oil Lamp Theater and licensing agreements with two adjacent businesses for further parking, landing a restaurant was the final major piece. Additional landscaping, pathways and road work may be in the cards.
“The culmination of 18 months of work,” said Glenview Director of Community Development Jeff Brady, who drew kudos for this work, along with Village Manager Matt Formica.
The village is selling the land to Ballyhoo for $210,000, providing a grant of $1.75 million and a loan of $2.25 million over 15 years at 2% interest, well below market.
It is estimated, based on interest on the loan and assumed tax revenues, that Glenview would see its return on investment in 14 years and take in more than $411,000 by the end of the agreement period.
The meeting's sole point of contention came when Trustee Chuck Gitles noted the disparity between the length of the loan and a 10-year guarantee that a restaurant would be operating on the site. He asked the O'Donnells for a 10-year loan repayment period to match the guarantee.
“The sooner you repay the loan, the sooner we can redeploy the money to redevelop other parts of Glenview, including the rest of the downtown. And improving the rest of downtown will not just help Glenview, it'll help you guys,” Gitles said.