Where is Heartland Cafe's Building Permit?

Do they need a building permit for "top-to-bottom refurbishing?" There is a lot of cleanup going on at the still-shut down Heartland Cafe. Its license was suspended last week for mouse dropping "throughout," mold in the ice machine and warm refrigeration. Eeee-yuk. The cleanup, however, raises yet another question. The ChiTown Daily News had a piece with some interesting information in it (emphasis added): "[Partner Michael] James says the concrete floor has been replaced, and they fired their exterminator, hiring a new one....But first they’ll need to pass another inspection. Hogan says they are praying they will pass, especially with the top-to-bottom refurbishing the restaurant has received..." (Full post) Okay, then, here's the question: Where's the permit to make those repairs and replacments? I'm not making accusations, I'm just asking. According to the City of Chicago's Department of Buildings, "The Easy Permit Process allows home and building owners to obtain a permit to REPAIR or REPLACE THE SAME OR EXISTING elements of a building, without making any changes to the structure of the building." In other words, you need a permit to replace a concrete floor and, one would imagine, to do "top-to-bottom refurbishing." In fact, the types of projects requiring a permit from the DOB include: - Repair or replace existing non-structural elements - Drywall – patch, plaster - Floors – doors, cabinets - Light fixtures - Furnaces (except if part of a major conversion)– replacement only - Scaffolding - An Easy Permit can be received same day if the work has been approved by the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) The DOB website notes that, "Depending on the complexity of your project, an Easy Permit can be issued the same day if the following criteria is met:" - All paperwork and documentation is correct and has been approved - There are no prior code violations on the property Did the Heartland Cafe get a permit for the "top-to-bottom refurbishing," which includes replacing the concrete floor? Was "all paperwork and documentation" correct and approved? If so, by who? If so, is the permit displayed prominently, as required, where it can be easily seen from outside of the building? Since I no longer live in the Peoples Democratic Republik of Rogers Park, maybe one of the local blogger sleuths there can look into this further. While you're at it, RP bloggers, look into whether the Heartland Cafe will be taking this opportunity to make the joint "green" by replacing all of its lightbulbs with the new mercury-laden coil flourescent bulbs. RELATED: When Permits Are Needed (Chicago DOB) Building Permits in 49th Ward Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Cool Stuff...

Heartland Liquor License Modified (Why No Public Meeting???)

Item #2 in the June 25 email blast from Sandi Price, DevCorp North's managing director, is a notice that Heartland Cafe will again be serving liquor on its patio. They were fined $3,000 last fall for serving on the patio, which was not included in their license. But what's the deal? If Heartland Cafe is again serving on the patio, it means that they are (a) continuing to violate their liquor license, or (b) their liquor license was modified to include the patio. If it's (b), then we'd like to know why there was no public meeting to consider that liquor license modification! (If you gag a little bit after reading Katy Hogan's hyperbolic text, you're to be forgiven.) From: Sandi Price [mailto:sprice@devcorpnorth.org] Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:16 AM To: sprice@devcorpnorth.org Subject: Rogers Park Happenings The HEARTLAND CAFE, at the corner of Lunt & Glenwood in the heart of Rogers Park, is ONCE AGAIN, as it had for many years, SERVING ALCOHOL along with its consistently "Good Wholesome Food for the Mind & Body", on their gorgeous, flowering Outdoor Patio space; an outdoor cafe without peer for its grace and beauty. Yours in serving the 'hood since 1976, Kathleen & Michael, Heartland Cafe Co- Founders, Owners and Neighbors 7000 N. Glenwood, Chicago 773 465 8005 www.heartlandcafe.com Sandi Price Managing Director DevCorp North (773) 508-5885 www.rogers-park.com (By the way, notice Katy's claim that Heartland Cafe's serves "consistently" good food. Really? The service is consistently slow, the kitchen help is consistently underpaid and not allowed to join a union, and a common complaint about the place is inconsistent quality of the food!)

Support This Liquor License

Here's a liquor license we should not oppose, Rogers Park. It's for a nice restaurant just off of N. Sheridan Road on W. Pratt. It's on a quiet cul de sac, but the license should cause no problems for neighbors. Why not? Because people don't go to a fine Mediterranean restaurant, have a nice bottle of wine with their hummus, then stumble out to pee on the neighborhood lawns. Leave that to the drunks wobbling out of the Oasis bar, just around the corner, which stays open until 4:00 a.m. Support this liquor license. Or, at least, please don't oppose it. From Alderman Joe Moore, January 4: Dear Neighbor, I am writing to invite you to a community meeting on a proposal for an incidental liquor license for a new restaurant located at 1146 W. Pratt. The meeting will be held at 1146 W. Pratt on Monday, January 7th, at 7 p.m. The site is currently occupied by Cafe Suron. The owner of Cafe Suron is selling the restaurant to Aykut Sinanoglu, who plans to open a new restaurant called Tas, which will offer Mediterranean cuisine. The plans include an application for an incidental consumption on premises liquor license, which allows restaurants to serve liquor, I held a similar meeting in April 2005 to discuss Cafe Suron's request for the same type of liquor license, and it was well received. Mr. Sinanoglu currently manages six restaurants. I am interested in hearing your views on this application before I make my recommendation to the Mayor's License Commissioner. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please share your thoughts by replying to this e-mail or calling my office at 773-338-5796. Thanks for your input.

Deep Doo Doo for Unlicensed Dogs

Corrected: Apologies - link was not working before, but is good now.

Margot at Rogers Park Dog warns all of you dog owners to get legal now!

Chicago dog owners be warned: get your city license immediately - Chicago Police bike officers were threatening to ticket dog owners without a license in our parks. As of today, they have branched out onto our streets. Cat owners throughout Chicago are laughing uncontrollably.

Chicago's Dumb Dog Debacle

Dog licensing the Chicago way: City officials dog on the job In the latest example of dumb and dumber do politics, here is a classic blunder in the city's attempt to address dog licensing. Thanks to Margot at Rogers Park Dog!