Clarendon Hills May Give Restaurant Another Chance

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Clarendon Hills is holding off on terminating its agreement for a restaurant subsidy, even though officials said the owner was in default.

The village's staff recommended that the Village Board walk away from the agreement because the owner failed to get any permits or submit any construction documents.

Owner Chase Lofti plans to renovate the building at 27 S. Prospect Ave. for an American-style restaurant, Prospect Tavern.

At Monday's meeting, the board voted unanimously to allow the village to resolve the matter with Lofti. Trustees spoke about possibly reducing the $265,000 subsidy and setting milestones for the project.

At the meeting, Lofti told the board he was "100 percent committed" to the renovation. He said he had been going back and forth with the architect on different designs.

"We have made extensive progress," Lofti said. "There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work."

On Sunday, he told Patch that he would apply for a demolition permit Monday and construction permits next week.

Village President Eric Tech said Lofti's delays "led us to worry about your commitment to the project." And Village Trustee Omar Chaudhry said Lofti only started acting when the village sent a notice of termination.

Officials said the agreement was to get the restaurant opened within six months of the village's approval of construction documents.

In December, the Village Board approved the agreement after previous differences over parking and outdoor dining. Lofti signed it in January.

The subsidy is coming from the downtown tax increment financing district, or TIF.

The district is designed to spur development. The idea is that the restaurant would bring the village far more tax income than the subsidy.

Of the subsidy, $50,000 was contingent on Prospect Tavern's opening within six months.

The overall renovation is expected to cost nearly $600,000.

The building in question was most recently occupied by La Pearl and I Want Candy, but it has been mostly vacant since Sue's Cakery closed in 2019.