La Grange Restaurant Keeps Outdoor Dining

LA GRANGE, IL – A discussion about a project at Grayhill Inc., a La Grange manufacturer, during Monday's Village Board meeting shifted to outdoor dining for a nearby restaurant.

Since the start of the pandemic, Antonino's Ristorante, 701 W. Hillgrove Ave., has rented Grayhill's vacant lot at 707 W. Hillgrove Ave., for outdoor dining.

But Grayhill is not continuing the lease. And it plans a wrought iron fence and grass on the gravel lot in question.

At the board meeting, Trustee Glenn Thompson wondered what would happen to outdoor dining at Antonino's.

On Tuesday morning, Patch called the restaurant and was told that outdoor dining would continue along the sidewalk outside the eatery, as was the case for years before the pandemic. The 707 Hillgrove site allowed a lot more outdoor dining.

Officials told Thompson and other trustees that the village eased regulations for outdoor dining during the pandemic. But now that it is over, the village plans to start enforcing codes to make sure eateries with outdoor dining have enough restrooms and handicapped accessibility.

Trustee Beth Augustine said the vacant lot is part of "our lovely west end" that is improving and growing.

"What are the plans for that space? That's real revenue we don't get because it's just an empty lot," Augustine said. "Now, we're going to put up a wrought iron fence and some grass."

The grass will absorb water, lessening stormwater problems, Augustine said. Still, she said the property could be put on the market, so the village could have a continuous line of businesses on the block.

Filling it in with a business, she said, seemed like a good use of the property, rather than letting it sit vacant.

"It kind of looks like a problem," Augustine said. "

Scott Harrison, Grayhill's CEO, said his company owns the building behind the gravel lot.

"We currently use that for warehousing. It currently is actively being used," Harrison said. "The neighbors around us can comment that over the last year there has been much upkeep and maintenance to that building. It was overtaken by vines. We removed the vines, replaced the roof and painted the building."

He said that because the firm does work for the Department of Defense, it has certain requirements for security, thus the wrought iron fence.

"We've had prowlers recently," he said. "We plan to keep 707 Hillgrove. The owners of Grayhill do not have a desire to divest of property. In fact, they would be more interested in acquiring property rather than divesting it."

The Village Board unanimously approved Grayhill's plan.