Yorkville Mayor Gary Golinski said there’s no chance the city can revive talks for a new restaurant in town proposed by the owner of the Fishermen’s Inn in Elburn.
“We lost a lot,” Golinski said of the plan for a 12,000-square-foot restaurant and banquet facility adjacent to Ron Clark Park.
The Yorkville City Council Tuesday night was prepared to vote on an application for rezoning and a variance for the project. Mark Southern, owner of Fishermen’s Inn, was interested in purchasing the property at 104 N. Bridge St. and demolishing a single-family home on the property which is near the park.
As part of a public-private partnership with the city, he would have made improvements to the park’s shelter and fund 50 percent of the cost of a city parking lot on a portion of mowed green areas of the park.
“I thought it was the perfect marriage for the park,” Golinski told The Beacon-News after the meeting.
The City Council appointed economic development committee had endorsed the concept of putting a parking lot in a portion of Ron Clark Park and was generally accepting of the public-private partnership, city officials said.
However, Southern pulled his plans last week amid opposition. Yorkville residents who are protective of the park raised objections for use of the park by a private investor.
In a public message posted online, Southern announced that he was withdrawing his plan for the facility.
“Never at any point did I want to impact the park negatively, if anything the desire was to increase the park’s value to the public’s experience and to broaden the exposure of the park to a wider audience,” he said. “I would like to make it clear that my intention was always to bring something positive to the residents of Yorkville as I have a strong passion for the environment, architecture and food. I believe that the Fox River and Ron Clark Park are truly gems and should be preserved but also enjoyed and appreciated by all residents.”
Golinski said he was impressed with Southern’s plans. Southern and his wife, Patti, recently renovated the Fishermen’s Inn. The iconic restaurant, which has a 50-year history, was featured in the September issue of Northwest Quarterly magazine. The couple reopened the facility as a venue for weddings, private parties and corporate meetings. He proposed to operate a similar venue in Yorkville.
Along with being the restaurateur of Fishermen’s Inn, he is an ecological consultant and president of ENCAP in DeKalb, which specializes in environmental-related issues.
“I was blown away by his concept plan. He would have been a good steward for the park and it would have opened the park up to all of the residents of Yorkville, not just the immediate people who live there,” the mayor said.
The city purchased the park property from the Clark estate on the condition it would be preserved as open space and put to use for recreational and educational purposes.
“I wish (residents) would have kept more of an open mind. Everyone keeps saying how the city should preserve land that was donated. The fact is the city paid $550,000 for the land. We wouldn’t be able to get that for the property now,” he said.
Golinski said he doesn’t think the project has any chance for revival.
“It’s done,” the mayor said. “(Southern) is not a confrontational person who would want to deal with it (the opposition). If people don’t want him here, he will move on.
“Yorkville lost out on a beautiful establishment that would have brought in people from all over and utilized the Chapel on the Green for weddings. It would have removed the invasive species in the park. We lost a lot,” Golinski said. “People complain about their taxes but they don’t want to see new businesses. It would have been a perfect fit for the area.”
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
