Restaurants & Bars
Goal For La Grange Eatery's New Owner: 'Not To Screw It Up'
The restaurant's likely new owner wants to keep the status quo. Current owners are praised for their service to the village.
LA GRANGE, IL — The likely new owner of La Grange's Palmer Place Restaurant and Biergarten told village officials Monday that he and his wife aimed to keep the status quo at the longtime eatery.
"You might see a few new menu items. Palmer's is going to be Palmer's," businessman David Tarman told the Village Board. "Our goal is not to screw it up."
Village President Mark Kuchler replied, "We hope you reach your goal"
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Tarman said he and his wife, Leslie, looked all over the Chicago area for a spot to own a restaurant.
"We came into La Grange and pretty quickly fell in love with La Grange," Tarman said.
Find out what's happening in La Grangefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
On Wednesday, Patch called owner Phil Palmer on Wednesday, but he declined to comment. He said he would comment once the transaction to sell the restaurant closes next month.
During the meeting, Kuchler called Palmer Place iconic and said it was known around the Chicago area for its family-friendly atmosphere, menu, more than 300 beer options and St. Patrick's Day celebration.
"Steve, Phil and the rest of the Palmer family give a tremendous amount of their time and financial support to the community that they love and we appreciate all those efforts," Kuchler said.
Those efforts include meal donations to the homeless, support for veterans, service on school and Metra boards and support of local businesses, he said.
"I know if I allowed Steve to speak, he would start screaming and saying, 'You're jinxing everything. We haven't closed. Don't do it.' So we're not going to carry on much more about this until there's a closing, at which point we will invite Steve and Phil back to Village Hall, so we can really thank them for their unbelievable service to our community."
At the meeting, the Village Board voted to grant a liquor license to the Tarmans' company, DLT Operations Inc. They also own The Silo Restaurant in Lake Bluff, which is in Lake County.
According to Palmer Place's website, the Palmer family opened the restaurant in 1983. It is at 56 S. La Grange Road.
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