THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008
YOTI Code Inspection Expected Next Week
By RICHARD MAYER
Journal Reporter
A building inspection of Ye Olde Town Inn restaurant and bar is scheduled for either next Tuesday or Thursday after an agreement was made between staff and owner Tod Curtis' representatives earlier this week in a Chicago courtroom.
According to Village Manager Michael Janonis, the framework for the agreement is based on the presiding judge looking for the some kind of "benchmark" that would assist in speeding up the work that needs to be done to allow the downtown eatery to re-open for business. The restaurant has been closed since Friday, Apr. 11 after the village filed of a temporary restraining order in Cook County Circuit Court.
"The court ordered that an inspection be tentatively conducted either next Tuesday or Thursday for possible inspection," said Janonis. "However, the timing has not been set in stone."
Janonis said the village could receive a call at anytime between now and next Thursday from Curtis' representatives to inform them work has been completed and village inspectors may visit the establishment to conduct the inspection.
"If we inspect on Tuesday or Thursday and we believe the certain requirements have been completed, then we will head back to court on Friday (May 16) and the judge would lift the order to allow Ye Olde Town Inn to re-open," Janonis said.
"The inspection should only take five minutes, because the village shouldn't be inspecting the building, just the work that was ordered to be done," said Richard Valentino, Curtis' attorney. "We want to make sure that the required work is fully completed, because we do not want anyone from the village to have any more reasons to deny Ye Olde Town Inn to re-open." According to the village's inspection report, the following structures were considered to be "unsafe:"
* The kitchen floor is sagging and collapsing.
* The sub-floor under the bar area is in disrepair from repeated exposure to water and leaks.
* The rear staircase's vertical structure is no longer straight along with the supporting column base.
* The second floor west porch roof is sagging and close to collapsing.
* In regards to electrical issues, the inspection report by village staff states that throughout the entire property, numerous extension cords have been left out in the open.
"The ball is in their court," added Janonis.