A stylish new Mediterranean restaurant is coming to the historic “Glenview House” thanks to $2.9 million in grants and loan guarantees from the Village and cautions from historians.
History buffs are happy the Glenview House is reopening after more than a year in mothballs but caution the north suburb must take action to permanently protect the priceless historic gem in the heart of downtown.
Experts say that the walls could talk, what a story they would tell. The brick two-story Glenview House was built in 1878 when local leaders gathered to sign a petition seeking Glenview’s incorporation in 1899, Lynne Stiefel, a board member of the Glenview History Center told the Village Board on August 6. She said it’s unique among buildings tracked back to Glenview’s earliest days.
“Nothing would serve our community more than seeing this historic structure reopened,” she said, adding that each time Glenview House changed hands in the past new owners ensured the Village the exterior would only be modestly improved.
“The Glenview History Center and everyone concerned with seeing this historic integrity of Glenview House maintained will and must watch closely while this development progresses so that irrevocable damage does not occur,” Stiefel cautioned. “Given its age and significance to Glenview, we believe Glenview House can only be absolutely protected from historical harm by having it declared a ‘local historic landmark.’ We hope this becomes everyone’s objective in the future.”
The Village Board’s enthusiastic unanimous vote for the $2.9 million redevelopment agreement with “LUPOCANN2 LLC” known as Foxtail Restaurants to open a Mediterranean-style restaurant in the Glenview House marks the Village’s latest attempt to breathe new economic life into the downtown core. Once again they’re putting the Village’s money where the village’s collective mouths are by giving restaurants and other businesses financial assistance to root them downtown.
Foxtail already has a successful restaurant in an old Des Plaines church and Downers Grove and the redevelopment agreement sees Glenview giving them a $1.4 million gap assistance grant and a $1.5 million construction loan secured by an agreement to be paid back at 5 % interest over 10 years, explained Jeff Brady, director of community development in Glenview. The total cost of the project is about $5.25 million with the Village contributing $2.9 million.
Brady said sales tax revenue from Foxtail will be a true “net investment” in the downtown.
Glenview’s granted and loaned millions from “The Glen” agreement to businesses over the years moving resident, William Seitz, to say the Village must be more transparent when pouring “public money” into private enterprises. Seitz was involved in a civil court dispute with the village over an unrelated land issue.
At the August 6 board meeting, Cathy Schiltz, owner of the Glenview’s downtown Grind Coffeehouse told the Village Board its decision the same night to give a $500,000 grant to a new coffeeshop/restaurant to open a few blocks away could drive her out of business. The board didn’t agree. Instead, it voted unanimously to give Hometown Coffee Glenview, LLC and IGM Limited Partnership a $500,000 grant to open at the southeast corner of Grove and Depot Streets, less than two blocks from Glenview Grind. The total cost of the project is estimated at $1.6 million.
It’s a lot of money but, Trustee Jim Bland said it’s money well spent, an investment paying it forward into the village’s future.
“This Board has listened to the citizens of Glenview and has worked hard to implement the feedback that has been part of the Glenview Connect process,” he said. “We continue to use the permanent fund in accordance to established Village policy. These loans and grants are functionally creating an endowment of sorts for future replenishment and use of the permanent fund by future boards thus providing continued resources and flexibility for those challenges that may face Glenview in decades ahead.”
Glenview House served as a tavern and restaurant for many years before closing in March 2023. The $2.9 million in financial aid for the new restaurant comes from the “permanent fund,” as part of “The Glen” 1996 residential redevelopment project when real estate developers there said they’d given 20 % of the proceeds from the sale of land within “The Glen” to the Village’s permanent fund for economic development outside “The Glen” in particular in the village’s downtown core as a way to help business economically hurt by the opening of The Glen and to attract new ideas. The Village has spent about $13 million from the Glen Fund to date.
Resident William Seitz is a frequent critic of the way the Village disperses the funds saying it needs to be more transparent when pouring millions of “public dollars” into private deals. He said budgets, applications and transparency are inconclusive and wants a new village ordinance outlining details. Seitz was involved in civil litigation with the Village on another land matter.
A memo to the Village Board describes the Foxtail Restaurant team as committed to revitalizing the “historically significant Glenview House to become a stellar neighborhood dining destination,” it says. “The Foxtail’s upscale casual concept has made a splash since opening in Downers Grove, Illinois, in February 2020. Not only did the just-launched Foxtail survive COVID’s upheaval, but loyal Downers Grove diners now consistently pack The Foxtail dining room and patio to enjoy our approachable, Mediterranean-inspired menu and lively ambiance.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.