"It also supports the nearby BoHo Theatre, the No Exit cafe and gallery and the Red Line Tap, a popular live music venue."
How quaintly generous of the Heartland! Perhaps the management should begin charging rent! Why should the Red Line keep paying no rent and giving away free beer if the Heartland is in jeopardy?
So Michael James wants "community support" for his failing business?
He might have gotten more community support in the form of traffic in the Heartland if the food were a little better and the lack of sanitation wasn't so visible. Too many filmy drinking glasses in that place and too much mediocre food.
Many people will not particularly miss this particular local "institution". I've seen the Heartland's dumpsters overflowing too many times. Other restaurants of much higher quality have set up here and they are becoming local mainstays, too- places like RoPa and Groupo di Amicci and Morseland and The Mayne Theatre. Other talented entrepreneurs are no doubt eying the void left by the Ennui Coffee House and perhaps the Heartland, and they are completely capable of filling it with attractive places with good offerings reasonably priced.
As an aside- in case no one noticed, the dreary little Chinese takeout at 6801 N Sheridan has been replaced by a nice little sushi restaurant.
Things die and new things are born. It's the way of life.
I dont know much about the redline, but i have to say perhaps its the rude staff, cold/bad food and health inspection failure that has lead to this money problem. I gave that place 5 or 6 tries, I mean I really tried to like it... but the service and food was always crappy, so I now spend the little money I have to eat out at places that have good food and good service. If they run the books like they run the rest of the place, they kinda have it coming... (try smiling, paying attention to what im ordering and perhaps a "thank you" every now and then... oh and try keeping the place clean)
I'm with the above - I want to support local business but the Heartland just creeps me out for some reason. Besides the food not being great, it just seems dirty in there. Just because a place has been there forever doesn't mean it should still be there.
I’m all for a progressive, locally owned establishment in my neighborhood, but then again… the food is mediocre and the service sucks. I don’t think they deserve to close for those reasons, but what does stick out in this Reader’s article http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/heartland-cafe-rogers-park-fundraising-overdraft/Content?oid=2525643 is the admission that they really did not keep up with the new bank rules/fees and that they don’t understand banks. Hey, neither do I, but if I had a business of my own I would hire a business manager who did know how these things work. So yeah, it’s a bit sad but Darwin might have had something with that whole survival of the fittest thing. I mean, this is less about a Starbucks taking over and squeezing out a mom & pop store and more about responsibility.
Ouch! I can't believe I am reading all these very negative comments. I thought all of the "progressive" nitwits out there would be jumping to Mickey Jim's defense and echoing the Gay Chicago story's "blame the bank" theme. Well I have personally heard old stinky Mickey crying about his money problems and I have no sympathy. If you want to run a business, then run it. He wants to spend his time leading the 49th ward Demoncrats, not cleaning up that run down sorry excuse for a liberal hangout. I personally would be happy if that place fails and closes just because it would signal that Rogers Park is moving beyond the 1960's. But to be fair, I used to go there once in a while for breakfast and liked what i got, especially the cornbread. Best memory: Breakfast in the outdoor area. Worst memory: That old fart politician Paul Simon interrupting breakfast to shake hands as he campaigned. Funniest memory: Being booed by the bar patrons when I went in to pick up a Reader while wearing a suit and tie. Adios. I'll miss your Huevos Rancheros but not the cruelly pierced waitstaff or the extremely poor service. And not Mickey Jim.
If a business doesn't deserve to fail for bad food, surly service, and bad sanitation, what does it deserve?
These are reasons enough for the Heartland to bite it.
Good food and a high level of cleanliness are baseline expectations, and friendly service is a must. There are dozens of restaurants in RP, Edgewater, Uptown and W. Ridge with great food, nice atmosphere, modest prices, and glittering cleanliness and they all work hard for the patron's money. I'm surprised a dirty dump like the Heartland has lasted this long.
So, businesses get benefits now? I guess we bail out banks, so for-profit businesses get benefits! I wonder if they know that money gets taxes, or if that is part of their problem...
What they really need is a lawyer to negotiate with their lender, and if necessary, restructure their debt. Even the IDOR can be reasoned with if you have good representation.
Select crony businesses have been getting subsidies in various forms for DECADES.
How do you say TIF? Or "tax abatement", just to name only two of the ways in which businesses, mostly very large ones, are subsidized in this country.
The Uncommon Cup on Devon Ave was the beneficiary of a $500,000 grant to put in its solar panels and rooftop garden.
Boeing got $37M, that is not a typo, that is THIRTY SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS to occupy space in the Willis Tower. I searched and could find nothing that mentioned any guarantees that they would hire a given number of city residents.
Target, Walmart, Home Depot and the rest of the Big Box brotherhood won't build without a multimillion dollar subsidy.
And then there's the housing industry, which has been the beneficiary of direct and indirect subsidies, mostly in the form of FHA and VA loans, and the government backed "private" GSEs, and an infinity of "affordability" programs to help drive up prices, for decades.
Never mind the series of major bailouts for the S&Ls, the auto industry, and lately the major financials, going back many decades.
Or the $14 Billion a year we throw at the failing private airlines with their well-paid executives. Or crop price supports for agribusiness, also going clear back to the 30s.
There are so many huge subsidies for almost everything that it has become absolutely impossible to tell what is really productive and pays for its keep, and what does not.
So if a bunch of sentimental numbskulls want to organize and donate their own money as an act of charity to save the Heartland, well, that's their call. Needless to say, I don't want our ward's menu money spent on this, but I can't argue against it on grounds of fairness given what our taxes are being used for right now.
Phew. Just read through all the comments on the reader site.
Well I had a squatter who I had to kick out who is a chef for the heartland cafe and after that I havent gone. He didnt live too clean. So while I like the place and the concept of it all, I think that they have fallen very very far indeed from where they were before.
Well alot of places have a lifespan, they start they thrive they spiral down and then die. THere are some places that continue on, but the baton has to be handed off to the right person, a family member who is competent or something like that when the elder person is ready to retire. Looks like that didnt happen with the Heartland Cafe.
Sell the business. Maybe someone else can make it work.
No one seems to know if these guys who own the business own the property there.
Common Cup still not pickup up trash in parkway. Confirmed on many occasions. Including this am. I picked up a couple of aluminum cans by common cup and a bunch up and down that stretch of greenview and gave them to the Can Lady. As the proprietor of Common Cup Ruth claims, "I just cant keep up with all the trash..." It took me exactly 1 minute to clear the parkway of trash, degree of difficulty about a 1 out of 10.
And 6921 n wayne and by the video store was a virtual trashapoolza, 4 trips to put the trash in the old peoples home trashbin, and ofcourse some irate grumpy old guy gave me hell for it.
I did find rebar I can use and a heavy bike chain with the lock still in it, will have to saw through the lock to use the chain again since no key available, guess someone lost their bike
It may have more to do with the revamp that took place in 2009. We really don't know the debt, among other issues that put them at risk. I'd rather he open up, then ignore it.
How many institutions just disappear suddenly when people forget to ask the community for help. Overall, I have never recalled surly service at the Heartland. We just have challenges finding parking!
Perhaps, a trip on the bicycle, RTA and CTA may prove worth the effort. However, we will need to put locks on the wheels and seats until the bike bandits are arrested.
Boeing got $37M, that is not a typo, that is THIRTY SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS to occupy space in the Willis Tower. I searched and could find nothing that mentioned any guarantees that they would hire a given number of city residents.
Do you mean United ? Boeing HQ is on the other side of the river. Miller/Coors was also given money to relocate here.
As far as the heartland, let James dig out of the hole he created on his own. He always has been an idiot. Lets see how much he has contributed to Moore.
One final point. A review of the Heartland Cafe website confirms that all of Mike's businesses are in jeopardy. Whether one or all businesses will go under is unclear.
What I do know is that the Heartland has nachos that the Hophaus, among others, cannot hold a candle to. Leonas and The Hop Haus may need to treat its women staff without excessively 'hitting on them' according to at least one disgruntled waitress. Perhaps, the Hop Haus will find a way to better inspire its staff, as well.
Knowing that Mike's businesses have a reasonable reputation, they are having the fundraiser at the Heartland. They urge those who want to continue to go to make an investment in its future. The discount cards are an effort to tap into a resource; customer loyalty. It seems fair enough to me.
I guess that I am fortunate to have avoided the wrath allegedly experienced by a few. I have had both joy and disappointment at Chili's, among other mega-restaurants. I appreciate that many businesses have staffing challenges. At least, The Heartland did not get as seedy as one downtown upscale Brazilian meat joint, when a manager allegedly bribed an ICE Officer to issue I-94 entry card extensions to unlawful staffers. The sleek Brazilian appears to still operate unimpeded by its questionable activity brought to us by a broken immigration and visa system that lacks a viable visa system to satisfy labor shortages.
The hope is that those at the Heartland who appreciate how precarious their jobs now are will step to the plate and show loyal customers what the Heartland can do to earn trust and make us want to return. If not, this fundraiser will prove to be an ineffective band-aid, but one that I will attend. Mike clearly indicated that this is the tip of the iceberg, but he is trying to win our trust.
Chuckies is now open, not sure which was their opening night but i saw them for myself open on saturday nite, looks nice.
10/11/10 well this am woke up to find a HUGE gang sign on the side of the video store at morse and wayne, i have called 311 already. I heard that the cops were checking it out too. Its the second enormous one to go up there, one earlier in the year. Very Sinister looking.
There has been more gang activity of late around here, there were 15 gang guys saturday around 5pm at morse and wayne, so seeing the amazing amount of new gang graffiti was not a shocker. Whenever I see obvious hooliganism or gang activity I call 911. Hope all you other guys out there are too.
A big empty space right on that corner is NOT what the area needs, especially right now. Unless someone has the inside scoop on a business person waiting to move in immediately and open a popular business, it might be better to help them stay afloat for a while instead of letting that spot go to the thugs, which it most definitely will since they live all around that area, east to west and north. Having the crowd at the Heartland there has stopped a lot of crimes from happening in the immediate vacinity.
@Charlie Didrickson "Funniest memory: Being booed by the bar patrons when I went in to pick up a Reader while wearing a suit and tie.
Bullshit, that never happened."
I swear on your mother's naughty parts that it DID happen. The boys there don't take to establishment types. It was funny and pathetic and so "hippie".
I am 3 out of 3 without an anti-suit & tie comment. I even sat at the buffalo bar and drank a shot of Buffalo Trace. I regret that I occasionally experience ignorance on the Gold Coast, as well, but for other reasons.
All cities grant money to major corporations that are going to relocate their headquarters - big deal. We can use as many as we can get - the more hq, the more prestige and the more jobs for all. I just don't think many of the businesses listed did anything to get customers through the door. Have promotions, loyalty programs etc - many new people move here and don't even know these businesses exist! Lakefront Larry - you made me laugh!! Udder? like from a cow?
Loosing the heartland franchise would leave a noticeable area of blight in the revamped arts district. That could become quickly troublesome if meth labs and dealerships spring up. Could also create space for new business's to boom and grow.
@ Chip @Charlie Didrickson "Funniest memory: Being booed by the bar patrons when I went in to pick up a Reader while wearing a suit and tie.
Bullshit, that never happened."
I swear on your mother's naughty parts that it DID happen. The boys there don't take to establishment types. It was funny and pathetic and so "hippie".
Keep telling yourself that and maybe it will come true.
Raz, just because "all cities" use tax money to lure businesses with "gimmes" does not mean it is morally correct, or economically beneficial.
Call me a Free Market religionist if you will, but ANY type of corporate welfare is Anti-free-market and very communistic in spirit. It is also so in fact. Why should small business owners have to subsidize their own destruction by subsidizing Target, or Home Depot, or whoever to set up shop in their cities? Are they better off going out of business and being converted from the status of small entrepreneur to low-wage worker at Target or WalMart or Home Depot? Are we better off with a Border's that will soon vacate for lack of business than we are with our own home-grown independents? And do we begin to get what we pay for in terms of jobs and taxes?
What we get is race to the bottom among municipalities to see who can bankrupt itself first subsidizing businesses that don't even commit to remaining in the city. Schaumburg, to name just one example, has not only not built a healthy tax base by bribing businesses with tax abatements and other subsidies, but has put so much burden on remaining taxpayers that house taxes have become utterly insupportable. A client of mine watched the taxes on his $200K ranch house go from $2200 to $8500 between 2002 and now. The house was well within his means when he bought it, but this latest increase is the last straw. He must sell because he can't pay, and at a steep loss.
Welfare is welfare, whether it's a TIF to get a Borders that is now about to disappear because the chain is on the verge of failure, or a monthly stipend for a 20-year-old cretin with 5 babies who can't read past the 3rd grade level. The subsidies for business skew markets, and trigger rampant over-development in the subsidized industry, as witness the saturation of the local condo market spurred by government subsidized loans and housing "affordability" programs, and the ridiculous glut of retail space nationwide.
We should be able to support the businesses we choose by patronizing them and spending our dollars in them by our own choices, and not be forced to support them through our taxes. No healthy, honest, durable economy was ever built by government subsidies.
All of that is great in an ideal world but the reality is that states and cities compete for big businesses to relocate. Texas is gaining businesses right and left with low taxes and business promotion. I did not say to support retail stores but business. What's your solution? Don't compete to get business in this state with your moral values and just let the business world go down the drain?
Some of us appreciate the home grown nature of the Heartland Cafe as an RP Institution. It is not the only restaurant with that name. Yet, if it's management team has brought it to this situation, and does not return calls by those who can encourage it to flourish, then they, by their present mentality, they may cause it to fail.
My experiences over the years with the Heartland suggest a level of humility, but what I gather is that some think that Michael & Katy have morphed into Michaele & Tareq Salahi. I hope that's not the case. There is no room for "plastic jims."
35 comments:
It seems odd that a business that has been around for so long
is having SUCH financial trouble.
Well i do support the heartland and go there alot. Heres hoping that it makes it through the winter.
"It also supports the nearby BoHo Theatre, the No Exit cafe and gallery and the Red Line Tap, a popular live music venue."
How quaintly generous of the Heartland! Perhaps the management should begin charging rent! Why should the Red Line keep paying no rent and giving away free beer if the Heartland is in jeopardy?
Mr.James own the Red Line Tap, and if he says it is losing money he is fos.
So Michael James wants "community support" for his failing business?
He might have gotten more community support in the form of traffic in the Heartland if the food were a little better and the lack of sanitation wasn't so visible. Too many filmy drinking glasses in that place and too much mediocre food.
Many people will not particularly miss this particular local "institution". I've seen the Heartland's dumpsters overflowing too many times. Other restaurants of much higher quality have set up here and they are becoming local mainstays, too- places like RoPa and Groupo di Amicci and Morseland and The Mayne Theatre. Other talented entrepreneurs are no doubt eying the void left by the Ennui Coffee House and perhaps the Heartland, and they are completely capable of filling it with attractive places with good offerings reasonably priced.
As an aside- in case no one noticed, the dreary little Chinese takeout at 6801 N Sheridan has been replaced by a nice little sushi restaurant.
Things die and new things are born. It's the way of life.
I dont know much about the redline, but i have to say perhaps its the rude staff, cold/bad food and health inspection failure that has lead to this money problem. I gave that place 5 or 6 tries, I mean I really tried to like it... but the service and food was always crappy, so I now spend the little money I have to eat out at places that have good food and good service. If they run the books like they run the rest of the place, they kinda have it coming... (try smiling, paying attention to what im ordering and perhaps a "thank you" every now and then... oh and try keeping the place clean)
I'm with the above - I want to support local business but the Heartland just creeps me out for some reason. Besides the food not being great, it just seems dirty in there. Just because a place has been there forever doesn't mean it should still be there.
I’m all for a progressive, locally owned establishment in my neighborhood, but then again… the food is mediocre and the service sucks. I don’t think they deserve to close for those reasons, but what does stick out in this Reader’s article http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/heartland-cafe-rogers-park-fundraising-overdraft/Content?oid=2525643 is the admission that they really did not keep up with the new bank rules/fees and that they don’t understand banks. Hey, neither do I, but if I had a business of my own I would hire a business manager who did know how these things work. So yeah, it’s a bit sad but Darwin might have had something with that whole survival of the fittest thing. I mean, this is less about a Starbucks taking over and squeezing out a mom & pop store and more about responsibility.
How about they just sell the business and get another operator?
Do they own the property there?
They should.
You beat me to posting the reader article.
I still wish them well.
But yeah, Just weird for them to be in such dire straits after such a longtime in business.
Ouch!
I can't believe I am reading all these very negative comments. I thought all of the "progressive" nitwits out there would be jumping to Mickey Jim's defense and echoing the Gay Chicago story's "blame the bank" theme. Well I have personally heard old stinky Mickey crying about his money problems and I have no sympathy.
If you want to run a business, then run it. He wants to spend his time leading the 49th ward Demoncrats, not cleaning up that run down sorry excuse for a liberal hangout.
I personally would be happy if that place fails and closes just because it would signal that Rogers Park is moving beyond the 1960's. But to be fair, I used to go there once in a while for breakfast and liked what i got, especially the cornbread.
Best memory: Breakfast in the outdoor area.
Worst memory: That old fart politician Paul Simon interrupting breakfast to shake hands as he campaigned.
Funniest memory: Being booed by the bar patrons when I went in to pick up a Reader while wearing a suit and tie.
Adios. I'll miss your Huevos Rancheros but not the cruelly pierced waitstaff or the extremely poor service. And not Mickey Jim.
If a business doesn't deserve to fail for bad food, surly service, and bad sanitation, what does it deserve?
These are reasons enough for the Heartland to bite it.
Good food and a high level of cleanliness are baseline expectations, and friendly service is a must. There are dozens of restaurants in RP, Edgewater, Uptown and W. Ridge with great food, nice atmosphere, modest prices, and glittering cleanliness and they all work hard for the patron's money. I'm surprised a dirty dump like the Heartland has lasted this long.
So, businesses get benefits now? I guess we bail out banks, so for-profit businesses get benefits! I wonder if they know that money gets taxes, or if that is part of their problem...
What they really need is a lawyer to negotiate with their lender, and if necessary, restructure their debt. Even the IDOR can be reasoned with if you have good representation.
Select crony businesses have been getting subsidies in various forms for DECADES.
How do you say TIF? Or "tax abatement", just to name only two of the ways in which businesses, mostly very large ones, are subsidized in this country.
The Uncommon Cup on Devon Ave was the beneficiary of a $500,000 grant to put in its solar panels and rooftop garden.
Boeing got $37M, that is not a typo, that is THIRTY SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS to occupy space in the Willis Tower. I searched and could find nothing that mentioned any guarantees that they would hire a given number of city residents.
Target, Walmart, Home Depot and the rest of the Big Box brotherhood won't build without a multimillion dollar subsidy.
And then there's the housing industry, which has been the beneficiary of direct and indirect subsidies, mostly in the form of FHA and VA loans, and the government backed "private" GSEs, and an infinity of "affordability" programs to help drive up prices, for decades.
Never mind the series of major bailouts for the S&Ls, the auto industry, and lately the major financials, going back many decades.
Or the $14 Billion a year we throw at the failing private airlines with their well-paid executives. Or crop price supports for agribusiness, also going clear back to the 30s.
There are so many huge subsidies for almost everything that it has become absolutely impossible to tell what is really productive and pays for its keep, and what does not.
So if a bunch of sentimental numbskulls want to organize and donate their own money as an act of charity to save the Heartland, well, that's their call. Needless to say, I don't want our ward's menu money spent on this, but I can't argue against it on grounds of fairness given what our taxes are being used for right now.
Uncommon Ground on Devon.
I like Uncommon Cup though,
nice mishmash of names to come up with a new one.
Phew. Just read through all the comments on the reader site.
Well I had a squatter who I had to kick out who is a chef for the heartland cafe and after that I havent gone. He didnt live too clean. So while I like the place and the concept of it all, I think that they have fallen very very far indeed from where they were before.
Well alot of places have a lifespan, they start they thrive they spiral down and then die.
THere are some places that continue on, but the baton has to be handed off to the right person,
a family member who is competent or something like that when the elder person is ready to retire.
Looks like that didnt happen with the Heartland Cafe.
Sell the business. Maybe someone else can make it work.
No one seems to know if these guys who own the business own the property there.
"There are dozens of restaurants in RP, Edgewater, Uptown and W. Ridge with great food, nice atmosphere, modest prices, and glittering cleanliness"
Bullshit
trash update for rogers park
10/9/10
Common Cup still not pickup up trash in parkway. Confirmed on many occasions. Including this am.
I picked up a couple of aluminum cans by common cup and a bunch up and down that stretch of greenview
and gave them to the Can Lady. As the proprietor of Common Cup Ruth claims, "I just cant keep up with all the trash..." It took me exactly 1 minute to clear the parkway of trash, degree of difficulty about a 1 out of 10.
And 6921 n wayne and by the video store was a virtual trashapoolza, 4 trips to put the trash in the old peoples home trashbin, and ofcourse some irate grumpy old guy gave me hell for it.
I did find rebar I can use
and a heavy bike chain with the lock still in it, will have to saw through the lock to use the chain again since no key available, guess someone lost their bike
It may have more to do with the revamp that took place in 2009. We really don't know the debt, among other issues that put them at risk. I'd rather he open up, then ignore it.
How many institutions just disappear suddenly when people forget to ask the community for help. Overall, I have never recalled surly service at the Heartland. We just have challenges finding parking!
Perhaps, a trip on the bicycle, RTA and CTA may prove worth the effort. However, we will need to put locks on the wheels and seats until the bike bandits are arrested.
Boeing got $37M, that is not a typo, that is THIRTY SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS to occupy space in the Willis Tower. I searched and could find nothing that mentioned any guarantees that they would hire a given number of city residents.
Do you mean United ? Boeing HQ is on the other side of the river. Miller/Coors was also given money to relocate here.
As far as the heartland, let James dig out of the hole he created on his own. He always has been an idiot. Lets see how much he has contributed to Moore.
One final point. A review of the Heartland Cafe website confirms that all of Mike's businesses are in jeopardy. Whether one or all businesses will go under is unclear.
What I do know is that the Heartland has nachos that the Hophaus, among others, cannot hold a candle to. Leonas and The Hop Haus may need to treat its women staff without excessively 'hitting on them' according to at least one disgruntled waitress. Perhaps, the Hop Haus will find a way to better inspire its staff, as well.
Knowing that Mike's businesses have a reasonable reputation, they are having the fundraiser at the Heartland. They urge those who want to continue to go to make an investment in its future. The discount cards are an effort to tap into a resource; customer loyalty. It seems fair enough to me.
I guess that I am fortunate to have avoided the wrath allegedly experienced by a few. I have had both joy and disappointment at Chili's, among other mega-restaurants. I appreciate that many businesses have staffing challenges. At least, The Heartland did not get as seedy as one downtown upscale Brazilian meat joint, when a manager allegedly bribed an ICE Officer to issue I-94 entry card extensions to unlawful staffers. The sleek Brazilian appears to still operate unimpeded by its questionable activity brought to us by a broken immigration and visa system that lacks a viable visa system to satisfy labor shortages.
The hope is that those at the Heartland who appreciate how precarious their jobs now are will step to the plate and show loyal customers what the Heartland can do to earn trust and make us want to return. If not, this fundraiser will prove to be an ineffective band-aid, but one that I will attend. Mike clearly indicated that this is the tip of the iceberg, but he is trying to win our trust.
I sent Craig a correction to my previous post.
It was UNITED AIRLINES that got $37M, not Boeing. I was transposing.
Search it- failing, stupid United Airlines.
I have seen "her highness" treat other business owners with udder and complete disrespect.
Good riddance to bad business people.
In business for over 25 years and no plan for bad times?????
Bye, Bye!!
Funniest memory: Being booed by the bar patrons when I went in to pick up a Reader while wearing a suit and tie.
Bullshit, that never happened.
Chuckies is now open,
not sure which was their opening night but i saw them for myself open on saturday nite, looks nice.
10/11/10
well this am woke up to find a HUGE gang sign on the side of the video store at morse and wayne,
i have called 311 already.
I heard that the cops were checking it out too.
Its the second enormous one to go
up there, one earlier in the year.
Very Sinister looking.
There has been more gang activity of late around here, there were 15 gang guys saturday around 5pm at morse and wayne, so seeing the amazing amount of new gang graffiti was not a shocker.
Whenever I see obvious hooliganism or gang activity I call 911.
Hope all you other guys out there are too.
A big empty space right on that corner is NOT what the area needs, especially right now. Unless someone has the inside scoop on a business person waiting to move in immediately and open a popular business, it might be better to help them stay afloat for a while instead of letting that spot go to the thugs, which it most definitely will since they live all around that area, east to west and north. Having the crowd at the Heartland there has stopped a lot of crimes from happening in the immediate vacinity.
@Charlie Didrickson
"Funniest memory: Being booed by the bar patrons when I went in to pick up a Reader while wearing a suit and tie.
Bullshit, that never happened."
I swear on your mother's naughty parts that it DID happen. The boys there don't take to establishment types. It was funny and pathetic and so "hippie".
I am 3 out of 3 without an anti-suit & tie comment. I even sat at the buffalo bar and drank a shot of Buffalo Trace. I regret that I occasionally experience ignorance on the Gold Coast, as well, but for other reasons.
Looks like Armadillo Pillow isnt doing so well now either.
http://rogerspark.com/rp/mikes_blog/comments/tough_times_similar_requests_from_two_long_standing_businesses/
Wow, real turn over of business in Rogers Park of late,
Ennui is gone, Pannini pannini gone, Heartland? Armadillo Pillow?
I frequent Armadillo Pillow quite a bit, be sad to see it go.
All cities grant money to major corporations that are going to relocate their headquarters - big deal. We can use as many as we can get - the more hq, the more prestige and the more jobs for all.
I just don't think many of the businesses listed did anything to get customers through the door. Have promotions, loyalty programs etc - many new people move here and don't even know these businesses exist!
Lakefront Larry - you made me laugh!! Udder? like from a cow?
Loosing the heartland franchise would leave a noticeable area of blight in the revamped arts district. That could become quickly troublesome if meth labs and dealerships spring up.
Could also create space for new business's to boom and grow.
@ Chip @Charlie Didrickson
"Funniest memory: Being booed by the bar patrons when I went in to pick up a Reader while wearing a suit and tie.
Bullshit, that never happened."
I swear on your mother's naughty parts that it DID happen. The boys there don't take to establishment types. It was funny and pathetic and so "hippie".
Keep telling yourself that and maybe it will come true.
Raz, just because "all cities" use tax money to lure businesses with "gimmes" does not mean it is morally correct, or economically beneficial.
Call me a Free Market religionist if you will, but ANY type of corporate welfare is Anti-free-market and very communistic in spirit. It is also so in fact. Why should small business owners have to subsidize their own destruction by subsidizing Target, or Home Depot, or whoever to set up shop in their cities? Are they better off going out of business and being converted from the status of small entrepreneur to low-wage worker at Target or WalMart or Home Depot? Are we better off with a Border's that will soon vacate for lack of business than we are with our own home-grown independents? And do we begin to get what we pay for in terms of jobs and taxes?
What we get is race to the bottom among municipalities to see who can bankrupt itself first subsidizing businesses that don't even commit to remaining in the city. Schaumburg, to name just one example, has not only not built a healthy tax base by bribing businesses with tax abatements and other subsidies, but has put so much burden on remaining taxpayers that house taxes have become utterly insupportable. A client of mine watched the taxes on his $200K ranch house go from $2200 to $8500 between 2002 and now. The house was well within his means when he bought it, but this latest increase is the last straw. He must sell because he can't pay, and at a steep loss.
Welfare is welfare, whether it's a TIF to get a Borders that is now about to disappear because the chain is on the verge of failure, or a monthly stipend for a 20-year-old cretin with 5 babies who can't read past the 3rd grade level. The subsidies for business skew markets, and trigger rampant over-development in the subsidized industry, as witness the saturation of the local condo market spurred by government subsidized loans and housing "affordability" programs, and the ridiculous glut of retail space nationwide.
We should be able to support the businesses we choose by patronizing them and spending our dollars in them by our own choices, and not be forced to support them through our taxes. No healthy, honest, durable economy was ever built by government subsidies.
All of that is great in an ideal world but the reality is that states and cities compete for big businesses to relocate. Texas is gaining businesses right and left with low taxes and business promotion. I did not say to support retail stores but business.
What's your solution? Don't compete to get business in this state with your moral values and just let the business world go down the drain?
Does anyone know anything about the new place going in on Morse - is it Chuckies? It looked like it might be open when I walked by there yesterday.
Some of us appreciate the home grown nature of the Heartland Cafe as an RP Institution. It is not the only restaurant with that name. Yet, if it's management team has brought it to this situation, and does not return calls by those who can encourage it to flourish, then they, by their present mentality, they may cause it to fail.
My experiences over the years with the Heartland suggest a level of humility, but what I gather is that some think that Michael & Katy have morphed into Michaele & Tareq Salahi. I hope that's not the case. There is no room for "plastic jims."
I sure hope they make it!
Here's to you michael and katy, and love the bloody marys on the weekends!
Yummy!
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