A Highland Park storefront that was once Shelton’s Ravinia Grill, an iconic local diner, could become a chiropractors’ office.
However, the prospective purchasers are running into some resistance from the city of Highland Park.
A husband-and-wife chiropractic team is seeking permission to use the ground floor space at 481 Roger Williams Avenue in the Ravinia district for their new practice, Greater Good Chiropractic Care. If the chiropractic use is approved, Connor and Natalia LaVallie plan to purchase the former Shelton’s building and live in the residential apartment above their practice.
The city has discretion to grant or deny the request, because chiropractic offices require a special use permit in the business district. Storefronts along Roger Williams Avenue in Highland Park also must be used for retail or “retail-oriented service uses” at street level, though exceptions can be found along the corridor.
Carolyn Hersch, the city’s business development manager, has objected to the chiropractic use of the storefront, saying it will not add to the vibrancy of the business district and runs contrary to the city’s goals for the area.
“There are already a significant number of service businesses in the district, many of which are grandfathered in until such time as they close,” Hersch wrote in a memo released for a March 20 hearing before the Plan and Design Commission.
She said there are other locations in the Ravinia area and elsewhere in Highland Park where they could establish their practice.
“It doesn’t have to be on the ground floor of this tiny district that doesn’t have many options left for dining and entertainment,” Hersch said.
Natalia LaVallie said the location is ideal for their practice because of its accessibility, visibility and proximity to a train station as well as the living quarters that will allow them to participate in community life.
“We understand the concerns,” said LaVallie, speaking of the objections raised by Hersch and some members of the Highland Park City Council.
LaVallie expressed confidence the practice would generate the kind of pedestrian traffic the city desires to bring to the area.
“The public hearing is giving us the opportunity to explain ourselves, how we are different (from other medical practices) and how we meet the criteria for the special use permit,” she said.
Both Connor and Natalia LaVallie obtained their chiropractors’ licenses in Illinois in 2017. Though neither is currently practicing on humans, Natalia operates a separate, mobile practice — Barnyard Chiropractic — for horses and dogs.
“We are seeing a lot more chronic disease among horses and dogs, and chiropractic care is seen as an alternative to surgery,” she explained.
Shelton’s was a neighborhood fixture for decades and locals fondly recall the days of stopping by for Mayme Shelton’s fluffy scrambled eggs, hot dogs served on round hamburger buns, milkshakes and French fries. The diner gradually closed its doors to customers after proprietor Bud Shelton died at age 75 in 1993. Mayme Shelton died in 2010 at age 93.
The diner was used for a scene in the 1983 movie “Risky Business” starring a young Tom Cruise.
The building was recently acquired and rehabilitated by Angel Street LLC. If approved, Greater Good Chiropractic Care would be the first commercial occupant of the storefront since the diner’s closing.
kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com
