Downtown tavern might reopen

September 9, 2008

Edward Husar

Maine Street Tap may be poised for a revival.

The downtown tavern at 621-625 Maine — shuttered since August of last year — reportedly could reopen soon under a potential new owner/manager.

Mayor John Spring, who serves as the city’s liquor commissioner, confirmed that a person has filed an application for a city liquor license for that location. The application is pending.

“I suspect that our Police Department is doing a background check, which is the normal process for a liquor license,” Spring said.

Police Sgt. John Summers said a background check is being conducted. He declined to release the name of the person who has filed the application.

Spring said he hasn’t heard any details about plans for the business. He said the prospective new owner/manager “has been dealing with the bank, not with us.”

Central State Bank owns the 16,000- square-foot building, which was previously owned by Jeffrey Jansen and two others who opened the tavern in September 2005.

Jansen later became the sole owner. The business ceased operations after the Illinois Department of Revenue revoked the tavern’s state liquor license on Aug. 31, 2007, for nonpayment of state sales taxes. The bank subsequently foreclosed on the mortgage and has been seeking a new owner/operator ever since.

Chuck Bevelheimer, Quincy’s director of planning and development, said the bank reportedly has been working with a prospective buyer/lease-holder who wants to reopen the business as a tavern.

“The way I understand the arrangement, they have an interested party who is interested in leasing it for the first year to see how the business goes before they actually purchase it. So they are leasing with an option to buy,” he said.

“We’re excited to see this come to the surface. We’re very pleased that the bank took the initiative and worked to find a potential buyer.”

The city has a stake in the outcome because the city, Adams County and the Great River Economic Development Foundation each provided $25,000 loans to help buy equipment and machinery used in the multilevel tavern, which reportedly at one time employed 70 people.

Bevelheimer and Spring said they are hopeful the city, county and GREDF will be able to recover at least some of their loan funds through the new ownership arrangement.

“We’re hoping that we will eventually get our money back — or at least get a good portion of our money back,” Bevelheimer said. “I think everybody is probably going to have to settle for something less than what the original value ofthose loans were.”

He said some depreciation on the equipment has occurred since the tavern initially opened, so it’s unlikely the agencies will recover their full loan amounts.

“I think some negotiation has to happen,” he said. “Whether we end up with 80 cents on the dollar or 75 cents on the dollar (or some other amount) is yet to be seen.”

Last September, the city received legal authority to make emergency repairs to some broken windows along the front of the second floor because falling glass posed a potential hazard for passersby.

The city then placed a lien on the building as a way to recoup its $14,000 in repairs.

Bevelheimer said Central State Bank has since paid the city in full for those expenses, and the lien was removed.

Spring expressed excitement over seeing a potential new owner step into the picture, because filling a vacant business is a positive development for Quincy’s downtown.

“I’m definitely happy that there’s interest in that building,” Spring said. “I still think it’s got great potential.”

Bevelheimer also is glad to see the business being rejuvenated.

“The goal of the original loan was to have a vibrant, active business in the downtown,” he said. “The city and GREDF and the county have been supportive of the bank’s efforts to move this forward in the way they have. So we’ve been agreeable that this is exactly what needs to happen with this building. We’re very excited about that.”