The opening of a new Pequod's (and other retail shops) is wonderful news. Pequod's has a well established product and a fine reputation. The new restaurant will certainly encourage train commuters, MG residents and others to spend their dining dollars in our Village.

A reminder to Patch readers: Morton Grove is home to two of Chicago Magazine's Top 25 Pizza restaurants in Chicagoland...Pequod's and Burt's.

I don't see the big deal about Pequod's moving to the TIF. It's obstensively the same food from the former location, but probably more expensive for the fancier building. Plus the village had to give them an additional almost one hundred thousand dollars to make the move. I also don't consider
pizza or fast food any new addition to our choices of restaurants.

He is my handsome husband, Alfonso makes the best pizza, i'm very proud of him...

Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Pastas, Sandwiches, Desserts AND award-winning pizza right here in town with a bigger place and plenty of parking to boot-this is great! I've been to their Lincoln Park location too-they have a lot on their menu. Morton Grove is becoming a happening place! Keep it coming EDC - keep it coming!

Would be interesting to see if a larger, Pequod's-anchored retail space could accommodate a move for Super Cup. I'd have to think that being right there on the tracks would really boost business with morning commuters.

A Super Cup that also serves tea and smoothies (and some baked goods with perhaps newspapers and magazines too) and where all the commuters could stop in after parking and before boarding the trains. A wonderful idea Mr. Lewis!

Seems to me Morton Grove does a lot of moving existing businesses on its own little Monopoly board...and very little attraction of new business. Pequod moves down the street, Produce World, ditto, McGrath...oh wait that ran into a bit of a roadblock. Show us some true economic development...not more sweetheart insider deals that benefit those in the know. why not buy and sell properties for what they are worth. Do we know the PEQUODS location is really worth what we are paying for it? 455K seems a bit high for that parcel off the main drag.

I Love Pequod's and Burt's. Without a doubt the best pizzas ever created. What Morton Grove needs is an upscale restaurant with white tablecloths and candles. Remember Oscars or The Studio? Because Morton Grove has no fine dining establishments we need to take our business to neighboring towns. We also could really use a Banquet Hall so we would not need to use the White Eagle or Tam O'Shanter or The Lone Tree Inn (just to name a few) for all of our Morton Grove Fund Raisers. Imagine being able to celebrate the important events in our lives such as graduations, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, baptisms, anniversaries, retirements and even funeral luncheons right in our home town. We need a facility to host these momentous occasions. It is important to hang on to the restaurants that have a loyal fan base. But, it is not progress to just move them a few blocks away. Pequod's outgrew it's space many years ago. I was thrilled when I saw the sign on Dempster announcing that Pequod's would be building on the Lochner land a few years ago. I wondered why that land was for sale again. Did the village offer Pequod's a better deal?

Does Morton Grove REALLY need the upscale, white table cloth establishment Lisa talked about? If so, let's remember that these establishments rely on people showing up more than an occassional big event to stay in business. Oscars and The Studio would still be here if enough of us frequented them. But to expect a business to remain open for a once a year - or decade - visit just isn't going to let them survive. Besides, how many restaurants of that caliber does anybody actually go to these days regularly? I watch "Check Please" on WTTW - seems like interesting places, but not the formal ones of days gone by. Lone Tree is nice - wouldn't exactly call it upscale though. Times change and so do people's tastes. I see lots of little places in town, how many has everybody visited? I do agree a banquet facility would be nice, but didn't the new Pequod's plan call for one?

Speaking of new restaurants, what's happened w/ plans to build a Culvers shop near Dempster and Harlem?
And wouldn't it be great to have a restaurant come back into the old Steakhouse property across the street?

Commercial development around the metra station is a welcome addition to the Village; it's good to see some vision of a commercial core that seemed to be missing in some past development. It's a shame things like the Dilg Building were demolished for condominium development, it would have made a fine anchor for a vision of walkable retail/commercial development along the Ferris/Lincoln corridor.

Lizzy T, you are correct...the former Ponderosa steakhouse is located in Niles, not Morton Grove.

I write as a member of the Village of Morton Grove Staff to help keep facts straight and clear up any misundertandings that may exist. It is encouraging that so many people, with a variety of viewpoints, are engaged in the community, as that makes for a stronger town. With all that in mind, here's some information to assist everyone's understanding:

- The proposed Pequod's project represents a significant expansion of floor space (in addition to relocation), as well as additional retail space for 1-2 other businesses, as noted in the article. As well, the current Pequod's space will ultimately be available for redevelopment. Because of these facts, this indeed is business growth in the community.

- Communities often see many economic benefits through the retention of existing businesses, sometimes through relocation and/or expansion, to ensure long-term success. Fortunately, Pequod's and the Village are partnering to make such a scenario a reality.

- While the Culver's project has encountered several private-party delays (unrelated to the Village), the construction process is expected to begin within the next 1-2 months, beginning with demolition of the existing building on that site.

- The steakhouse property across the street from the Morton Grove Culver's location is within the Village of Niles, not Morton Grove.

I welcome people to contact me at Village Hall to become informed about the Village; e-mail is best: jsaid@mortongroveil.org.

Mr. Said
Can you articulate the "but for" justification for this deal as pertains to TIF? Also why no detailed discussion of this at the Village Hall meeting.

Before we pat Mr. Said on the back for a job well done, I would like to see more details on what bustinesses have come and gone in recent years. Anotherwords, a list of all businesses that have moved into Morton Grove, not ones that have moved over from another location. A list of all businesses that have left the village in that time period. A list of all businesses that Mr. Said was directly responsible for bringing in. A distinction should be made on which businesses are involved
with retail sales and those that are just paying property taxes. I would guess that a good number of
businesses just moved here because of their real estate agents and not active solicitation by the village officials or Chamber of Commerce. On the village web site, I still see over 20 vacant business
properties for sale. Some of them have been sitting empty for quite a while.

Mr. Said has not even been on the job for a year yet. It seems like the tone of Mr. Dubren's post is holding Mr. Said to task for the existing economic climate that all municipalities are facing, not just MG. Even with the downturn in the economy, we have seen exciting new additions to our Village such as Apex Kitchen and Bath, Crazy Jaws Restaurant (opening this week), and Land of Nod corporate headquarters, just to name a few. It is unfair to suggest that Mr. Said does not actively pursue new business without asking him. He's posted his contact information and I suggest you contact him to get facts. Let's remember that most municipalities have whole Economic Development departments and Mr. Said is a one man show here. For that, I pat Mr. Said on the back for a job well done.

At this point, I would not give Mr. Said an A grade or a failing grade. He was not even aware of the
Land of Nod move until he read about it in a financial news piece.

I am not excited about the additions you mentioned. The influx of businesses are barely keeping up with the departures like Marshal's and Shoe Carnival that have moved only a few miles over to Niles. We should be working harder to keep the businesses we have. Encouraging more car dealerships to come to the village is not a step in the right direction. I may not be typical, but none
of the new places you mentioned are of interest to me and one of them will bring in no sales revenue. We can look at neighboring villages to see what successes they are having. Telling Mr. Said that he is doing a good job is not going to motivate him to get more aggressive and also be selective. Today, I did some shopping in Morton Grove at TJ Max and Eddie Bauer, but generally
I cannot find what I want here.

By the way, here are a few businesses I think would do well in our area. The nearest delicatesen to us is near Lutheran Hospital or the Skokie Swift. The nearest fish restaurant is in Skokie. The nearest hardware store is in Glenview. The nearest plant nursery is in Des Plaines.

I have never been in the Dempster Fish Market, but it is described as a Japanese Catering service. Not exactly what I would describe as a fish restaurant like Red Lobster. I don't like raw fish.

Good restaurants are doing well in our area. The Glen is hoping and Skokie seems to be doing ok.
A good restaurant would attract patrons, even to a small town like Morton Grove. Same with the
hardware stores and nurseries. I don't buy many plants in the big box stores nor much hardware
because the clerks don't know their merchandise, that is if you can find one. Most serious gardeners avoid these stores. I use Menards on occasion for hardware and got a good deal last year
on replacement windows. Although the prices are slightly higher, I prefer stores like Ace Hardware
where customer service is a big priority.

With all this negativism, we are not going to get anywhere.

The Dempster Fish Market is a great deal when it comes to Sushi, which is not all raw fish, you might want to start with trying a California roll. Nutritionally it is very good for you and promotes a healthy life style...hey if you walk to their store and walk home, you're also helping your heart. And once construction on Dempster is finished we will all get a chance to walk the wider sidewalks together. Their website is fantastic with lots of options for ordering, but being a mostly catering establishment it is best to order ahead of time. They are also a prime spot for grabing lunch on the go. We have sit down sushi restaurants in town as well for those who want a show and service. Now what I'd like to see is an Indian style restaurant...yum...

Well, I'm glad the spelling police are on the job. It should make all the difference in improving
Morton Grove.

The Great American Bagel is by no stretch of the imagination even close to a delicatessen. They
sell bagels and sandwiches. No lox, corned beef, gefilte fish, chopped herring, smoked fish, etc.

OK teach, will try to be more careful. I asked Patch to incorporate a spell checker a week ago, but so far have seen none. Maybe you should focus on content and not be picky about spelling. Maybe you should also check the spellings on your web page. I don't see it around, or maybe Patch has
surplanted it.

As a matter of fact, I do go into the Great American Bagel on occasion, but usually order the turkey
club sandwich. Common now, does having lox make it a delicatessen? It's a sandwich shop, nothing else.

I also think a drive-in movie theater would be a great addition to our community. I just wish the business men would read Patch because we have lots of great ideas. I think those big companies should stop wasting money hiring people with overpriced college degrees. Someone even told me once (so I don't know if it's true) that they'll have groups of people who do nothing more than study what goods and services people buy and where they'll buy them. I would love to see some of our residents move forward with one of their business ideas. It takes risk, but certainly it will be worth it.

All it would take would be several residents with a good idea to form an LLC. Yes, there is risk, and you must also compete with every similar business within a 10 minute drive. I would never recommend using long term saving or using the kids college fund.

Karen, please realize that there are some very opinionated people on this board.

I think you are using opinionated in a negative sense. Some of us have strong opinions, but I for one am not against hearing other people's views.

For Jennifer, the sandwiches on the video look appetizing, but certainly not a dieter's choice. Anyways, I would not drive all the way South for one, but if I am nearby, I would give it a try.
Kaufman's is ok, and I give them a lot of business, but the money is going to Skokie. The ethnic restaurants are well represented here in MG, but I would like to see more tradional American
food.

From what I've read above, it seems there were white-table cloth restaurants in Morton Grove but the market did not support them. Apparently the consumer market has changed over time. Given the census data, ethnic restaurants should be expected.

Agreed, demand will be met by the business community. The example of Ace Hardware provides some insight. If the majority of consumers preferred the customer service of Ace Hardware, then there would be no market to support Menards or Home Depot. Obviously, customers in that market want low prices more than individual attention. One person's preference does not create a market or sustainable business model.

So, what I want doesn't matter?

It only matters if there are 1,000 more people who like it too. That's consumer demand. If it's only you and your neighbor, the market is not big enough.

The big box stores are not getting all the business. Ace Hardware in Glenview seems to be doing ok.
I would not buy certain plants at the big box because they are often mislabeled or not of high quality. I go go Pesches in Mt. Prospect or Lurvies Garden Center. I did buy plants from Franks when they were in Morton Grove. Shopping at the big box stores is a guessing game, as there are many items they don't carry. I only browse around and buy what I think is a good deal. But if I have a household emergency, my best bet is a hardware store.

There are still white-cloth restaurants in our area like the Wild Fire in the Glen or Red Lobster in
Skokie, just to name a few. I don't think all the restaurants in Morton Grove left for lack of business. Maxwell's on Dempster was always crowded. If you have a reputation for good food and
service, people will come from all over. We could use another supermarket. They are all clustered
around Golf Mill. Nothing north until you find Jewel at Waukegan and Willow in Glenview. Aside from Dominicks, there is nothing much South, not counting the Asian Market on Waukegan in Niles. A Walmart would be nice as the one in Niles is far away, impossible to park, and jammed with customers. As the price of gas goes up, people will be less likely to travel longer distances to do their shopping and dining.

Thoughtful talk and think-tanking. Mr. Aparo is on target about demand in geographic areas of population being serviced as stores won't build new ones too close to each other. Franchises like Ace (Glenview and Edgebrook) have agreements that restrict how close their stores can be to each other. These are cold laws of business economics. Smaller, independent stores seeking more local customers, needing less land for buildings and parking, open up more easily and are the backbone of our economy. Better to have 10 new smaller stores equalling the revenue of just one big one. If one left, you still have 9 standing. Mr. Dubren is right, we could use another supermarket in town to offer an alternative to Dominicks and negativism is not going to get us anywhere. The key is working to make new business feel welcome, convincing them this is the place to be. No matter what the business, if they could be assured of enough sales from us they wouldn't leave. While a drive in theater is an interesting idea, it would require more open land that would sit vacant and non-revenue producing for many months, even if people still went to them. There are reasons companies hire professionals to locate stores, it's because they want to make money and better serve their customers. We can share our ideas about what shops we'd like to see in town, but in the end, owners of companies decide where to build them.

Jennifer,
Are you aware that Aldi's owns Trader Joes? There is an empty store right next to the Aldi's on Golf in Morton Grove. Maybe we can convince them to open a Trader Joes there. One possible problem is the store is limited in space, but I think it would still work there. I don't think we should try and emulate our neighboring villages with fancy municipal buildings because frankly, we can't afford them.

The movie house in Golf Mill seems to be hoping. Maybe a closed theater would be more practical.

I think the company professionals need a bit of proding. Look at the persistant real estate agent that
convinced District 67 School Board to consider a sale. They sent them three emails. The first two were trashed, but the last one struck home. That of course would have been a bad sale, taking away a perfectly good park and adding another ugly car dealership to Waukegan Road.

We need more specialty stores. I just bought some bird seed at Birds Unlimited in Glenview. That
owner gave me information I could never get at a big box store. I think people are slowly realizing that the big box stores are limited to lower cost advantages, and that they can get better service. in
some cases. from a smaller store.

I think Trader Joe's would be a wonderful store. However, I thought Produce world was moving into the Old Navy strip mall. I think that would harm both businesses. How about putting it in the nearly empty strip mall by the tracks on Dempster. It would be convenient for the town house residents and the folks driving home from the train station.

Lisa, you are correct, I wasn't thinking. Trader Joes would be a fine addition to our town. Both Park Ridge and Glenview locations are always hopping. I just hope we can fill up some of the vacancies in Dempster and brighten up our town. Bring the life back into it!

I wish Morton Grove would spend more dollars on beautification projects...More flowers,better town Xmas decor,not light up candy cane signs on light poles,how about nice fresh pine garland,like Skokie and Glenview uses? Nice large pots of flowers on street corners? Make it look classy not cheap... Nice lamp posts,benches,garden scapes and so on. Our town could look more inviting and classy,not drab and lifeless...After all we pay high taxes here-