Aside from the ploy to stir up controversy here, what is the purpose of this story?
There is no permit application. The owner of the property has said he has other priorities at this time and hasn't even done market research. Nothing else happening to report on Pam?

Thanks for the comment, Pat. There is a proposal being discussed, Patch has received a request for coverage, and people in the community are talking about it. We felt it was time to report the details.

Pat K,

If you are not interested in the story-dont read it!

I wonder if the old Crazy Jaws space would be a good one for the Kilt. Advantage of having the infrastructure there already. I think so much is done behind the scenes when talking development (sometimes for good reason) any discussion is a positive.

Our village administrator says that there are no restrictions in allowing this kind of enterprise in Morton Grove. Evanston has turned down three requests from the Tilted Kilt saying the establishment was not up to the standards of their town. Does Morton Grove have any standards or do we accept any business that will generate
tax revenue? How can the village brag about the awards we got for the best family
oriented place to live and turn their backs on allowing this sports bar to come in? It's
up to President Staackman to take a leadership role here and take a firm stand on just what kinds of businesses are we going to welcome to the village.

In the interest of critically-needed economic development in Morton Grove, I support any legal enterprise that is willing to “put its money where its mouth is” and invest in Morton Grove. The need for renewed development is obvious, and it is equally obvious that no enterprise will be universally embraced by all residents of our village. However, with increased development will come increased choice, a great collateral benefit.

Thank you, Pam, for reporting on this subject. While it may seem premature at this time to be discussing this specific development, it is always timely for us to make it clear to potential developers that our residents will applaud and support their willingness to invest in Morton Grove.

Does Vernon Hills, or Schaumburg have any standards. I think so. They have a Tilted Kilt in their towns. Dont see anyone moving out, do you. Nothing wrong with the tax they will generate to the village either. This isn't the admiral theater moving in folks!

I believe it is always a good thing when the public is asked to give their opinion as to the direction the village is headed as well as what "character" the village should take on as far as it's business districts are concerned. Even though a project may or may not be at the proposal stage, village planning should always be a community event. So I commend Patch for taking this "pulse of the village" as far as The Tilted Kilt is concerned. As far Mr. Dubren's comment regarding leadership, the mayor may have an opinion regarding the Tilted Kilt. However, the question of "what kinds of businesses are we going to welcome to the village" is a question for the community as a whole, not for just one individual to determine. That is precisely the reason Patch's informal survey is so important.
Larry Gomberg
Trustee

In Evanston, the mayor there took a leadership role in stopping the Tilted Kilt. It is the job of the village president and other village officials to set the standards for what
is desirable for our village. From the remarks of our village administrator, we have no
standards as long as village code is not violated. I believe the Tilted Kilts in Vernon
Hills and Schaumburg are much more isolated from their residents than our prime location on Dempster. As far as needed revenue, maybe if the village did not squander our money on questionable ventures like the Prairie View Shopping Center,
we would not have to welcome all comers to Morton Grove.

Sherwin, your remarks are always the same so maybe you should just save them, cut, and paste as the subject demands! Your standards are the only appropriate ones so businesses that others support are no good. You know what restaurants are best for the community so ethnic and bar restaurants are not desirable. Guess what? Maxwells is not coming back! If village officials don't do it your way-they are deficient. It is easy to criticize and second guess but "what trees do you plant" in this tough business climate. We get it-the administration is always wrong!

Pat K. I guess there was a story after all, as Pam suggested, judging from the reaction. I think that with one party rule where a lot of discussion is inevitably and not inappropriately behind closed doors "in caucus" (pun intended!) we need media to talk about issues early on and get comments going.

Was this last comment from Pat Kansouer? It had Tony's name on it, but it was not the kind of thing Tony would say.
For Tony, there is no urgency to plug the hole where Maxwell's used to be. In this current business climate, smart investors are holding back. We need not be desparate to put in a unsavory business. By the way, your remarks are just as repetitive as mine, so what makes you think you are the only one residents should listen to?

Love the Kilt, I bring my family there all the time in Joliet. If you have a TV with basic channels, you are getting more of a risque exposure than coming to a Tilted Kilt. The food is great, and love the atmosphere...It is not a strip joint, or a brothel....it is a pub.

I am a Morton Grove resident concerned about the possibility of a Tilted Kilt opening in our community. I am directly impacted by the potential location of the establishment as I live a short distance from the empty parcel of land on Dempster purchased by Ted Mavrakis. Based on quotes from Mr. Mavrakis, he has indicated an interest to put a Tilted Kilt restaurant in Morton Grove, he is also exploring other options.

I am not concerned about scantily clad women nor am I an opponent of attracting businesses to our community to increase our tax revenue. What I am concerned about is late business hours, traffic routed down our residential streets and the potential increased crime incidents as documented in police reports in other communities where Tilted Kilt and other like businesses are located, any or all of which could impact the safety and well being of our residents and the feel of our Morton Grove community.

The lot is zoned for commerical use. Our village board has indicated that although permits must be applied for and accepted and studies will be done by various committees such as the traffic safety committee, a special public hearing is not necessary. Articles such as this provide us with information to ask the right questions and do some research before final decisions are made. Let's do our homework.

You say Tilted Kilt is a bar with scantily dressed waitresses. I will allow it.

Note should be made of the police call to the Tilted Kilt in Schaumburg on 1.23.2012 where a suicide took place in the parking lot. (see post below).

The Elgin Tilted Kilt is open Fri and Saturday until 3am. I feel sorry for the people living in the Toll Brothers townhouses if this location is developed as a Tilted Kilt.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/michael-cicci-death-at-ti_n_1223504.html

Apparently, the people of Evanston did their homework concerning the Tilted Kilt before overwhelmingly rejecting this concept restaurant from Las Vegas. Please view these YouTube videos before taking the poll (one video required you to sign in to view, due to adult content):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9bRaDFM_yY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=jqVczUlcUHM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6uOPTe6qE8&feature=related

What's the big deal let them come in and let the people choose if they want to go to eat there.it's like porn you know it's out there but you don't have to look at it.

The tilted kilt is on par with a Hooters. The Village could use the income and our taxes are hiogh enough. Bring them in....................

I agree with Jeanne on concerns regarding traffic, noise and safety.
And furthermore, it seems highly unlikely that a Tilted Kilt will be profitable in that location, given that Crazy Jaws on Waukegan closed after less than a year and other Tilted Kilts (Elgin, Schaumburg) are in much higher-traffic commercial areas, with office parks, larger strip/shopping malls, hotel chains, etc. bringing in traffic. This one would be next to the forest preserve and park, in a pretty sleepy area of a community that pushes its "family-friendly" reputation.

Naperville had a bitter and divisive fight over a "Show Me's" (same sort of chain); the place ended up going in over people's objections, was closed after 10 months, then was replaced by a "family-friendly" sports bar. Seems like Morton Grove is heading down the same path, unfortunately.

The worst outcome would be that this turns into an ugly fight and the TK goes in over objections but then fails, leaving the village with yet another building sitting empty and not generating revenue. Can't we just skip the battle and put in a place that's suitable for all interested parties--something that would avoid the outrage over inappropriateness and generate the revenue that everyone wants?

I agree with Sarah B.

I also think it is outrageous for Morton Grove to not hold a public hearing if this comes forward, given the close proximity to a large residential area. Many families believe and support the 'best place to raise kids' marketing. Is it just a marketing ploy? Does the city back that pledge up with action or sellout for tax revenue?

I think many would praise the developer, should they consider a more appropriate venue for Morton Grove. Otherwise, I would expect this to be a loosing proposition, and informed may choose to stop backing other establishments in the city with ties to this developer, such as Giordano's.

I would urge those concerned to let our village trustees understand the importance of this issue. Don't settle for "we don't really have a choice" statements.

www.mortongroveil.org/government/VillageBoard.asp

Nice to see people speaking out against this Tilted Kilt. Kind of quashes all these comments that I am a lone indian and complainer.

I have a letter in the Morton Grove Bugle this week where I direct the ball to President Staackman's and the trustee's court. The President cannot excuse himself
for letting this project go forward. He issues the liquor licenses in the village and if he
stops their license, they can forget about their sports bar.

As for allowing a sports bar without the scantily clad women, I don't think that would be good for Morton Grove either. You can get drunk and roudy at any of these places. The site of the former Maxwell's restaurant is a prime and prominent location
on Morton Groves main avenue. Putting a sports bar smack on the frontage of Dempster is going to change the image of the village as a family oriented place to live. Some local business men, like the owner of Giordanos on Dempster, are reportedly backing this Tilted Kilt. If so, they should have more concern for the image of Morton Grove and less on any profits they may make from this investment.

I see many nice restaurants and businesses going into our neighboring suburbs of
Skokie, Glenview, etc. Why can't we get some of them interested?

I would like to point out a few things. Firstly, Crazy Jaws had just as many scantily clad servers as the Tilted Kilt - albeit less numbers and possibly not as provocative. Essentially it was the same concept, but it failed. I think they were open just as late and I'm not certain, but isn't there a similar restaurant on Touhy in Niles - Brickhouse? I'm a Niles resident so I don't know if there were any similar discussions about Crazy Jaws when that opened, were there? Secondly, regarding the neighbors, I have to agree that this could be a problem, however thats the cost of living near a business location. You likely paid less to have a nice newer home in not the best location. Having owned a home next to a main street/business district, I can attest to the fact that your property value will be less for that reason - and you KNOW that when you buy there (I would also point out that in that location, there used to be 3 restaurants, one of them I remember was a late nite one) . While there weren't new homes there at the time, the ones on the east side of Maxwell's were still there. I have been to the Tilted Kilt in Chicago Ridge and I was surprised to see the number of families there. While it isn't appropriate for young children, that is a choice Mom and Dad need to make, not the state. The food, drink, service and value at the Tilted Kilt are top notch - even if the servers were fully covered from head to toe, it would still be a great place to go.

Greg is way off here in his comparisons. Crazy Jaws waitresses were not nearly as scantily clad as those in the Tilted Kilt.

Families will bring their kids to all kinds of places. They were going to the Niles OTB.
Some families have no regard for their children, in this respect, so their attendance is not an endorsement.

Greg's town Niles seems to catch rejected projects like the Off Track Betting Parlor,
so maybe they can take the Tilted Kilt, as well.

There are something like nine Tilted Kilts in Chicago, so Greg does not have to go far to find one. This Sports Bar is pushing their franchises where ever they can go,
maybe one on every street corner.

Greg, many families who moved in near to this area and believed in the TIF district plan for this lot and the ability for Morton Grove to back this planned use, along with the tax incentive towards property owners.

I dont know about others but this development would not be alligned with the TIF plan and if any TIF tax incentives are provided towards this proposed plan I know some who will bring a suite against Morton Grove for this.

We have a Tilted Kilt in Vernon Hills. The town council approved it thinking it was an upscale sports bar without ever fully understanding the theme. We used to have a Hooters, but it closed due to lack of business. I can only hope the same thing happens to the Tilted Kilt. It is NOT a family oriented place, but usually filled with middle aged men looking at the largest collection of Victoria's Secret Wonder Bras ever gathered in one place. The food is extremely lame (fish tacos: three fish sticks in a taco shell; Shepard's Pie: a ball of mashed potatoes floating in a bucket of greasy ground beef soup). The drinks are weak. At least the Playboy Club was honest when it represented itself. Tilted Kilt is just a pretense of a restaurant, a display of scantily clad, barely twenty-one waitresses with no other redeeming feature. I hope it follows Hooters out of town, at least Hooters had decent Buffalo shrimp. Morton Grove, if you want a place to eat and drink, you can do much better.

This is great.

A local witness to a nearby Tilted Kilt has shattered any illusions about this being a
family type establishment.

Also, the food does not sound appetizing. Why else would one go there, if not to just oogle the scantily dressed waitresses?

I can go even further. Our Tilted Kilt is located in a shopping center across the street from a business park, so we do not have the neighborhood issues. However, immediately across the street is a very large nationally-known business in two buildings. Within a week of opening, it was announced to the employees that no expense reports with receipts from Tilted Kilt would be accepted for reimbursement. I know, I work there.

Now, do you think this policy would be in force for a real, family-oriented restaurant? Evanston knew what it was doing.

It was openly available for sale, maybe residents should have asked the Village to buy it. That would solve a lot of these problems. Of course that would mean tax payer money being used. If all of the people who are against this would each put in $5,000 to $10,000 maybe there would enough to buy it. There's no easier answers here. Are we really asking our local government to protect us from cleavage? I've seen worse on the cover of magazines in the check out line at the grocery store or at the pool across the street.

Oh good heavens, doesn't anyone remember what took place in the 60s and 70s so that women could make their own decisions? I don't want my granddaughter working there, but it's her life and her decision and she will have to be over 21 to work there. The type of man that only wants to stare at your body will do so regardless of the name on the restaurant door.

Businesses have a right to fail. America = Free Choice = Free Market. A brand new restaurant is a brand new restaurant. If it fails in a year like Crazy Jaws, then we're left with a vacant building that's ready for the next restaurant. Now, I agree that a nice 2 acre field in front of my home would be preferable, but that's not realistic. Also, it sounds like the business is not and has not asked for any help from the Village. A self-sufficient business not being supported by the Village is a winner.

This is why I no longer live in Morton Grove, because it is run by a puritanical group of self absorbed busy bodies. Grow the eff up people, it's a restaurant. To hear these bible thumping idiots, you'd think they were opening a full frontal nudity strip joint. Somehow, I don't think the little children Park View Elementary school will be sneaking in to order lunch and oogle the waitresses. As I said, Morton Grove is run by over taxed Prudes.

Let's not be hyporcrites about this. If we welcome this trashy sports bar into Morton Grove, we should give back any awards for being a great place for families and stop bragging about it.

When you open the door of opportunity to scandalously clad bars, you are opening up your entire life and everything you care about to it. Yeah one bar isn't bad, but it doesn't stop at just 1. Soon someone will want to open another then another soon you will have a serious problem. THe drunks,druggies come in soon crime rate raises, you have. Taxes butit will go towards trying to control the problems that come from this. All in all you let one scandalous bar in you will have to allow others. Befor you know it your property won't be worth anything it did, crimerate will chase off families then you will be left with nothing more then a drunkin, ghost town. Think this thru completely before opening your community up. I should know it happen to my hometown.

I can't beleive the ignorant comments posted. I am a resident of Verbon Hills, married, and an 11 month old daughter. We go to the Kilt relatively frequently. We Both like going (wife loves the garlic fries, for example). This is not a strip club, and you aren't going to see anything "out of the ordinary". The people that oppose a kilt moving in, do you have the same complaint if a public pool was planned? You'll see far more skin with everyone in their bathing suits. Also, last I checked, I haven't encountered a rowdy crowd leaving a sports bar en masse, disturbing the peace of the community they are in...and I've been to a LOT of places given my job has me accumulating over 250,000 airline miles - I have been all over and been to a lot of places and this would be the last of my concerns. My advice to Morton Grove would be to welcome new business and income and use it to fix up the dumpy looking town. Really...Dempster looks like you are living in a 3rd world country.

Interesting how people that differ in opinions with ACS are ignorant. I don't think so.

Be patient ACS. When your daughter grows up, she can get a job at a Tilted Kilt.

It is not a question of how much skin is shown. It's in the presentation. All the waitresses in the Tilted Kilt are well endowed and push up their boobs in a very
provocative manner. These people are selling sex. Sex need not be just naked women or prostitutes.

You seem like a real bar hopper. Does your wife appreciate that?

I have not been to the Vernon Hills Tilted Kilt, but I believe it is in a shopping district,
far removed from any residences. If they want to put their Tilted Kilt on Oakton, that
would be ok with me. Let's have some respect for the privacy of people living near the proposed site. Noise and traffic will be a problem. It's just not a good place to build the sports bar.

Additional Google searches for Tilted Kilt. This headline is in the Sun Times and from Elgin (date not listed):

Man charged with attempted murder for Tilted Kilt stabbings

http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/4053793-418/story.html

Folks, this proposal for for a key piece of Morton Grove real estate is really beginning to stink.

Mark, I'm sure there are more stories like this one about the Tilted Kilt.

For all the proponents of bars, they should look at what happened in a local bar
recently: http://niles.patch.com/articles/three-attackers-beat-man-in-bar
and I'm sure there is more of that too if one checks the police reports.

You know, I’ve been a resident of Morton Grove for well over 25 years.

The proposed location for this ‘Sports Bar’ is at what I feel is the entrance of our town. I for one don’t want to have it be the definition of what our village is. I’ll be honest; I would love nothing better than to see a mid-range ‘family’ restaurant in that location; something that we could take our kids and friends to. In my humble opinion, Morton Grove has done a pretty good job of chasing out just about any place I would want to go to for something other than a quick burger or pancakes.

I’ve been to the Kilt’s downtown location once. I was not impressed with the food, service or the clientele.

I also am a long time MG resident, an after years if listening to all the cry baby's in Morton grove. I to am moving. It's a restaurant folks. If u don't like it don't go there. Geeeeeez people