Clarendon Hills Restaurant May Happen After All

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – A plan for a family-style eatery in downtown Clarendon Hills has been revived.

On Monday, the Clarendon Hills Village Board plans to vote on giving a $265,000 subsidy to Prospect Tavern.

It would open at 27 S. Prospect Ave. The building was most recently occupied by La Pearl and I Want Candy, but it has been mostly vacant since Sue's Cakery closed in 2019.

In September, a split Village Board rejected the $265,000 subsidy. At the time, the majority's objection was a condition giving the restaurant three parking spaces for outdoor dining.

That condition was dropped with the latest proposal. According to a village memo, outdoor dining would be addressed annually, as with other restaurants.

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

The $265,000 will come from the downtown tax increment financing district, or TIF, which is designed to spur development. The idea was that the restaurant would bring the village far more tax income than the subsidy.

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

After the rejection in September, Chase Lofti, the restaurant's owner, told Patch that he would no longer open a restaurant in Clarendon Hills.

He said residents would have to continue going to Hinsdale or Westmont for his type of family-style restaurant.