Home

Home

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Community Meeting: Proposed New Restaurant and Bar at 1412 W. Morse

Wednesday, January 13, at 7:00 PM
United Church, third floor
1545 W. Morse (Morse & Ashland Aves.)
Chicago, IL 60626


The office of the 49th Ward Alderman, Joe Moore, will conduct a community meeting on a proposal to open a restaurant and bar at the new condo building at 1412 W. Morse. According to an email announcement from the alderman's office,the owner of the building , Alex Samrdzija, will be the proprietor of the proposed new business, which he says will be similar to Xippo, a restaurant and bar that Mr. Samrdzija owns in Lincoln Square at 3759 N Damen.

A zoning change, from the current B3.3, to C1.3, will be required and a special use permit will also be required for 7 additional off-site parking spaces.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suppose a Russian mafia place is better than a gangbanger place, but Xippo is awful.

The North Coast said...

I'm sorry to hear it. I haven't tried Xippo's but have talked to people who liked it and now I'm curious about the place.

Ivan said...

About the New Business Proposal on Morse-- I definately want to see new business startups on Morse Ave., but the community should proceed with caution especially when zoning changes are requested.

1) How many late night taverns do we want on Morse? From what I read in Alderman Moore's email blast-they are requesting a tavern license. So really this will be a bar that serves food. Right now there is Moreseland, Glenwood, Redline, Heartland, Mayne (formerly Morse Theatre) and Dukes within a block of eachother.

2. When zoning is changed and if this business fails or changes hands, what type of future businesses could replace it?

3. According to Alderman Moore, the property owner now owns or operates "Xippo" in Lincoln Square. I have read some good reviews and some very scary reviews about Xippo online at Yelp and CitySearch. One reviewer on CitySearch wrote:
"by Sillygirl720 at Citysearch
This is quite possibly one of the worst bars in the northside. Xippo belongs on Division St., not a nice residential area. The owners have no regard for the neighborhood and the street is littered with cigarettes every Sunday morning. I would give my business somewhere else. Also, the food is awful."

I am really going to take a hard look at this proposal -- for the potential long-term impact on area.

Al Iverson said...

Those businesses are not all within a block of each other, and Red Line Tap and Heartland are the same business. (Don't like either of them, but that's neither here nor there.)

Where do I vote "yes" for this? Want more stuff do on Morse.

The North Coast said...

Personally, I'm all for it and feel that the block should have been zoned C1.3 to begin with.

I'm willing to let individual restaurant patrons vote on the merits of the place with their personal dollars.

As for the risk of failure, well, that is always high with any small business, especially restaurants,

But do we, the residents who are not backing the place, have an entitlement to a guarantee that a given concern will succeed? I think not.

Investors and entrepreneurs have the right to take their own chances with their own money-just don't ask me to make good the losses with my tax money.