New restaurant in downtown Grayslake to offer valet service for all

A valet service planned for a new restaurant in downtown Grayslake will make parking easier and lead to better use of remote parking lots, officials said.

Tom Bystol, owner of First Draft Grayslake, plans to offer complimentary valet services to his patrons and anyone else heading to the downtown area.

"I've spent 30 years downtown (Chicago) doing restaurants and everyone's biggest concern is where am I going to park," said Bystol, who moved to Grayslake in 2016. "This will help solve parking."

Bystol said it was important to him that the service is available to anyone heading to downtown Grayslake.

"I'm all about promoting downtown Grayslake," he said. "The better the other businesses are doing, the better we will do. No one is coming downtown if there is just one place to go."

The Grayslake village board established a new valet license at its meeting Tuesday night. The license was created after Bystol expressed interest in offering the service. Assistant Village Manager Brett Kryska said the license will cost operators $100 annually.

Under the plan, drivers will pull up to one of three parking spaces in front of First Draft Grayslake, which will be at 250 Center St., and a valet will park the car in one of the nearby free parking lots.

"Downtown has a large amount of underutilized parking spaces and parking lots," Kryska said. "This service will allow better utilization of the remote parking lots during what's expected to be high traffic hours."

Bystol said the restaurant is likely to open in late June or early July. He said the work, which includes adding on to and maintaining the existing historical building, was delayed for around six weeks because of winter weather. As part of the agreement Bystol signed with the village, the building will keep its historic look.

Bystol said the restaurant will be similar to the original First Draft in Chicago, which he also owns. The Grayslake location is going to be much larger - it will have 9,000 square feet of dining space compared to the 2,500 square feet of dining space at the Chicago location. It will also have two outdoor dining areas, including a rooftop deck.

There will be a full menu, a large kitchen, use of fresh ingredients and 60 beers on draft with an emphasis on offerings from local craft breweries, he said.

The building most recently was used as a salon and has been vacant for at least three years, Bystol said.