The Aurora City Council has approved a $45,000 grant to help Stolp Island Social restaurant downtown.
Council members unanimously approved the COVID-19 relief money, part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, to the restaurant so it can survive until it expands its hours Aug. 29.
While City Council members discussed the grant through several committee meetings, Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, had asked it be put on unfinished business for the Aug. 9 regular council meeting because he had more questions about it.
At the meeting, Mesiacos said he was satisfied after meeting with restaurant owner Amy Morton, and other city officials.
“The challenge of COVID was very real on restaurants,” he said. “No matter what our restaurateurs tried to do during COVID, there was no magic bullet.”
Several other City Council members had previously spoken in favor of granting the money, saying Morton has been a present owner, and that her restaurant is a welcome addition to downtown.
Morton herself addressed the council a week ago, detailing some of the hardships of running a restaurant during the pandemic, and finding employees during the reopening process.
City Council members, city officials and Morton all agreed that the restaurant is dependent on shows going on at the Paramount Theatre next door. The Paramount did not have a summer show, which necessitated shorter hours for the restaurant, Morton had said.
Morton opened Stolp Island Social in 2019 after a city search for a high-end tenant for the restaurant suite, which is part of the Aurora Arts Center building.
The restaurant has had good reviews and a lot of attention because of Morton, who owns several other well-known restaurants in the Chicago area and whose father is Chicago restaurant legend Arnie Morton.
But the restaurant was only open for a few months before the shutdown for the pandemic in 2020.
City officials have said the $45,000 would cover about a month of expenses for the restaurant, but would keep it going until “Dreamgirls” opens at the Paramount at the end of August. At that time, the restaurant will be open six nights a week, as well as during the afternoon on Wednesdays and Saturdays for matinees. It also will continue its Sunday morning brunch.
The city did previously support the restaurant with $100,000, which was more in the line of an investment. The restaurant will pay that back after all other investors are satisfied.
Other than that, the city’s participation in the development came in the form of its development of the overall Arts Center project.
The city contributed about $5.5 million to the more than $30 million cost of the project, which also included the school for the arts, rehearsal and living space for the Paramount, and more than 30 artist-preference loft apartments.
The city money came from a combination of tax increment financing district funds, HOME funds, Community Development Block Grant funds, a loan from Aurora Township and a loan generated by the city from federal Section 108 funding.
Stolp Island Social pays the latter loan back at the rate of $5,200 a month.
