Tinley Park Considers $300K Incentive To Bring Upscale Cafe Strategy To Boulevard At Central Station

By Jon DePaolis

TINLEY PARK, Sick. — The Village of Tinley Park is thinking about presenting close to $300,000 in incentives to entice a nearby restaurateur to go into the Boulevard at Central growth.

The proposal — which was reviewed Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the Committee of the Complete (COTW) conference that preceded the often scheduled Village Board meeting — would dole out $230,000 for design assistance to the restaurant group and as a lot as $70,000 in income tax sharing over a interval of a few to 5 yrs, according to Tinley Park Neighborhood Advancement Director Kimberly Clarke.

The proposed restaurant — led in portion by Ed Nemec, who is an owner of Dancing Marlin in Frankfort — was described as showcasing an Italian-motivated tapas menu of sharable plates. It would occupy component of the to start with flooring of the new mixed-use setting up on South Street in the downtown district.

Clarke said the cafe group has planned to spend close to $1.9 million on the growth, which features space for outdoor eating and a eating place for banquets. It also will include a different place for carryout business enterprise.

“[COVID-19] has transformed a large amount of how dining places are rethinking how they will need to layout their business concepts,” mentioned Clarke, referencing the proposed business’ revisions to its square footage to enable for the carryout area. “That is a new notion that has progressed, and I believe that it will be a terrific strategy for the location.”

She also said the cafe would benefit the group by staying a place-fashion restaurant in the downtown that could “make a synergy” with the transforming demographics of the spot. Clarke also claimed the small business could create jobs and present gross sales tax profits for the Village.

“Preferably, this is a cafe that we assume will be a catalyst for our downtown,” Clarke explained.

Nemec, who joined the discussion by cellphone, claimed the proposed cafe will be the “jewel” of the dining establishments he has created. He said the concept will contain an open up kitchen area.

The trustees voted 4-2 to forward the proposed incentive settlement onto a potential Village Board agenda, with Trustee Michael Mueller voicing assist for how the arrangement was structured.

Nonetheless, two trustees voiced concerns about the amount of money currently being given out. Trustee Cynthia Berg reported she did not know why the Village was giving out just $5,000 in incentives to restaurants currently situated in Tinley Park but was considering $300,000 for a new small business.

“It would not make any sense to me that the other places to eat could be having difficulties so, and we would go ahead and hand out this to this personal company, it sounds like,” Berg reported.

Trustee Diane Galante reported she liked the concept but stated the Village also gave a major incentive to the developer of the South Road challenge.

“We have so many struggling companies correct now in our possess Village,” Galante said. “I would fairly that we set our electricity into supporting them in excess of [giving] out an incentive. I don’t consider they require an incentive. It appears like it is heading to be a strike.”

In response, Village Supervisor David Niemeyer said that during the negotiations for incentives with the South Road developer, employees said they would fairly think about incentive guidance for upscale dining concepts.

“I assume from staff’s perspective, this is essential for the reason that we are striving to [create] a new path for the downtown,” he claimed. “By bringing a business enterprise like this in, which is likely to help not only South Street but all the organizations all-around it.”

Galante also claimed she experienced a issue with the Village offering out $230,000 in “upfront money” to assistance with the design costs.

“It would be a unfavorable issue for me to give out upfront funds,” she reported. “I you should not think we have carried out it because we’ve been a board. I believe this is something new now, and I would somewhat adhere with sharing [incentive money] following the simple fact with them.”

In the end, Galante mentioned she did not feel it was an idea the board should go forward with, and Galante and Berg forged the dissenting ballots in the COTW meeting.

Trustee William Brennan reported he was energized about the challenge, but he also expressed some hesitation about giving out upfront dollars.

“I consider it can be going to be a great addition to downtown Tinley,” he said. “I am hesitant about the upfront dollars, but I assume that this is anything that we’ve been performing on for so extensive and team has performed a fantastic task of putting these incentives collectively.”

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