To: President Dan Staackmann, President, Village of Morton Grove
Say NO! to the Tilted Kilt in Morton Grove
We ask President Staackmann and the village commissioners to deny Ted Mavrakis' permit applications to operate a Tilted Kilt franchise in Morton Grove.
Why is this important?
UPDATE: (7/22/12)
There's been some movement on the Tilted Kilt front that I think is very positive. President Staackmann met with Ted last week and released a press release saying that Ted told Staackmann he wants "something the community can support" to go on the property. From the Patch story over the weekend:
"Mayor Staackmann commented, in the statement, “We want Mr. Mavrakis to be successful, with a development that meets the needs of the market and the community. The Village will work with Mr. Mavrakis to develop something that we all can be proud of.
""He's intent on doing something and he wants it to be accepted by the community, so that's positive," Horne said. "He reassured us he wants something the community can be proud of and not looked down upon," Horne added.
Here's the full story:
http://niles.patch.com/articles/tilted-kilt-mayor-owner-meet-don-t-mention
A second story came out as well saying that the development is on hold and with similar details:
http://mortongrove.suntimes.com/13812242-417/tilted-kilt-proposal-on-hold-for-now-in-morton-grove.html
This is the outcome we were hoping for--an agreement to build something the would be appropriate for the community.
________
Developer Ted Mavrakis applied to build a Tilted Kilt in Evanston but was denied a liquor license after more than 2,000 people protested. He then announced his intention to build a Tilted Kilt in Morton Grove on Dempster.
Though he has not applied for any permits for the land in question, leading some to say this outcry is premature, we are concerned that the permit approval process offers few, if any, options for public discussion on the topic.
We must speak up before it is too late.
Such an establishment does not fit with Morton Grove’s family friendly values. The Tilted Kilt’s sexually provocative messages, particularly those that sexualize women as children in Catholic school uniforms, are not appropriate for our community, which prides itself on being named in “Family Circle” magazine’s “10 Best Towns for Families” and Bloomberg Businessweek’s “Best Place to Raise Your Kids 2012” edition. The proposed location, nestled in an area with residential housing and community facilities, including Linne Woods and pavilion, Harrer Park and Pool, the entrance to Park View Elementary School, and the forest preserve, is especially inappropriate.
Police reports from other Chicago-area Tilted Kilt locations include reports of theft, public intoxication, criminal damage to property, battery, noise complaints, traffic accidents, drug sales, sales of alcohol to minors, and, in the case of the Elgin location, mixed martial arts matches (female-on-female and male-on-male) held in a custom-built cage on the premises, which were in violation of the liquor license. It should be noted that in cases of intoxicated and disruptive patrons the management simply ejects them into the surrounding neighborhood, thus making them the community’s problem to handle.
The downtown location is also the subject of a federal sexual harassment suit by 19 women, and the Schaumburg location was the site of a suicide that was witnessed by customers.
It is not a financially viable location for such an establishment. Other Tilted Kilts (Elgin, Schaumburg) are in much higher-traffic commercial areas, with office parks, larger strip/shopping malls, and hotels bringing in traffic. Crazy Jaws, a more family-friendly sports restaurant, closed in less than a year along a more commercial section of Waukegan, which would seem to bode ill for the Tilted Kilt.
The outcome everyone wants to avoid is the Tilted Kilt being built after a bitter and divisive approval process only to have it fail, leaving the village with yet another building sitting empty and not generating revenue.
We urge President Staackmann and the board to work with Mr. Mavrakis to build an establishment appropriate to all of our interests and beliefs.
Add your voice! Here’s how:
1) Sign this petition
2) Contact President Staackmann and the village board of trustees:
Dan Staackmann, President
Village of Morton Grove
6101 Capulina Avenue
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 965-4100
[email protected]
There's been some movement on the Tilted Kilt front that I think is very positive. President Staackmann met with Ted last week and released a press release saying that Ted told Staackmann he wants "something the community can support" to go on the property. From the Patch story over the weekend:
"Mayor Staackmann commented, in the statement, “We want Mr. Mavrakis to be successful, with a development that meets the needs of the market and the community. The Village will work with Mr. Mavrakis to develop something that we all can be proud of.
""He's intent on doing something and he wants it to be accepted by the community, so that's positive," Horne said. "He reassured us he wants something the community can be proud of and not looked down upon," Horne added.
Here's the full story:
http://niles.patch.com/articles/tilted-kilt-mayor-owner-meet-don-t-mention
A second story came out as well saying that the development is on hold and with similar details:
http://mortongrove.suntimes.com/13812242-417/tilted-kilt-proposal-on-hold-for-now-in-morton-grove.html
This is the outcome we were hoping for--an agreement to build something the would be appropriate for the community.
________
Developer Ted Mavrakis applied to build a Tilted Kilt in Evanston but was denied a liquor license after more than 2,000 people protested. He then announced his intention to build a Tilted Kilt in Morton Grove on Dempster.
Though he has not applied for any permits for the land in question, leading some to say this outcry is premature, we are concerned that the permit approval process offers few, if any, options for public discussion on the topic.
We must speak up before it is too late.
Such an establishment does not fit with Morton Grove’s family friendly values. The Tilted Kilt’s sexually provocative messages, particularly those that sexualize women as children in Catholic school uniforms, are not appropriate for our community, which prides itself on being named in “Family Circle” magazine’s “10 Best Towns for Families” and Bloomberg Businessweek’s “Best Place to Raise Your Kids 2012” edition. The proposed location, nestled in an area with residential housing and community facilities, including Linne Woods and pavilion, Harrer Park and Pool, the entrance to Park View Elementary School, and the forest preserve, is especially inappropriate.
Police reports from other Chicago-area Tilted Kilt locations include reports of theft, public intoxication, criminal damage to property, battery, noise complaints, traffic accidents, drug sales, sales of alcohol to minors, and, in the case of the Elgin location, mixed martial arts matches (female-on-female and male-on-male) held in a custom-built cage on the premises, which were in violation of the liquor license. It should be noted that in cases of intoxicated and disruptive patrons the management simply ejects them into the surrounding neighborhood, thus making them the community’s problem to handle.
The downtown location is also the subject of a federal sexual harassment suit by 19 women, and the Schaumburg location was the site of a suicide that was witnessed by customers.
It is not a financially viable location for such an establishment. Other Tilted Kilts (Elgin, Schaumburg) are in much higher-traffic commercial areas, with office parks, larger strip/shopping malls, and hotels bringing in traffic. Crazy Jaws, a more family-friendly sports restaurant, closed in less than a year along a more commercial section of Waukegan, which would seem to bode ill for the Tilted Kilt.
The outcome everyone wants to avoid is the Tilted Kilt being built after a bitter and divisive approval process only to have it fail, leaving the village with yet another building sitting empty and not generating revenue.
We urge President Staackmann and the board to work with Mr. Mavrakis to build an establishment appropriate to all of our interests and beliefs.
Add your voice! Here’s how:
1) Sign this petition
2) Contact President Staackmann and the village board of trustees:
Dan Staackmann, President
Village of Morton Grove
6101 Capulina Avenue
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 965-4100
[email protected]