Restaurant group wins grants for Ravinia project, but lack of progress concerns some on council

Questions surrounding a restaurant interested in coming to Highland Park and the amount of grant money the city is proposing to give to them led to a split City Council decision in December.

With a 4-3 vote, the council approved on Monday, Dec. 15, a $100,000 exterior improvement grant and a $150,000 interior improvement grant for CRG Ravinia, which city staff said plans on opening a full-service restaurant at 565 Roger Williams Drive.

The grants were supported by Mayor Nancy Rotering and Councilmembers Andrés Tapia, Jon Center and Yumi Ross. Voting in opposition were Councilmembers Barisa Bruckman, Annette Lidawer and Anthony Blumberg.

According to city documents, the $100,000 exterior improvement grant is five years worth of funds delivered in a lump sum. The grant “encourages the improvement and revitalization of the visible exterior appearance of existing buildings.”

The Food & Beverage Interior Improvement Grant “provides financial assistance to qualified new and existing full-service and limited-service food and beverage businesses that generate sales tax to cover eligible costs when upgrading and expanding their commercial space,” and covers up to 50% of approved expenses to a maximum $150,000.

CRG stands for Community Restaurant Group, which submitted its initial restaurant plans to the City in early 2025. The group hopes to transform the Ravinia-district site, which used to house a dry-cleaning business, into a 200-plus capacity restaurant that “will be a balance of whimsy and warmth, comfortable and friendly but with a slight edge” and is “more vibrant than a typical North Shore restaurant, but family friendly,” according to public documents.

The grant awards approved Dec. 15 were initially part of the council’s consent agenda but pulled for a full discussion.

Bruckman asked City Manager Ghida Neukirch for an update on CRG’s plans, saying that she has concerns.

“I have some reservations since I haven’t seen any work or anything done on this property yet,” she said, while adding that she’s heard from other area businesses that the property is being advertised as for lease.

No representatives from CRG were in attendance at the meeting.

Addressing the lack of work, Neukirch said CRG was waiting for the grant approval.

“They want to make sure that all of their financing is in place, and so that’s why they’re looking for confirmation that they have these grant funds because of the significant investment that’s needed at this specific location,” she said. “And so the grant funds as part of this program would not be issued to them until they actually were doing the work and requested a reimbursement of expenses.”

Neukirch also said that CRG is still interested in moving forward with their location but did address concerns about them not moving in.

“If, for example, they did not move forward with this location … then they could pursue another location, but these grant funds would not be transferrable to a new location, and they wouldn’t be issued at the onset of signing a lease,” she said.

Bruckman said she was concerned that the money being earmarked for CRG would mean that other funds for potential future applicants would not be available.

Neukirch said that could “potentially” happen, but funds for the grants have not been depleted in the past, and should it happen in 2026, city staff would let the council know “and we could look at alternate budget allocations and then move them over to this area if it was deemed appropriate.”

Lidawer expressed similar concerns, saying she felt the city was “putting the cart before the horse” in budgeting $100,000 for work that hasn’t started yet.

She said she would be more comfortable approving a $40,000 grant for CRG, as that would free up funds for any other potential restaurants interested in Highland Park.

Rotering responded to Lidawer’s concerns by saying that the city has ways of providing more grant money for interested restaurants.

“It’s green and it’s cash and I think we can stay flexible,” she said. “And I think for a group that is very, very determined to bring more restaurants into Highland Park, you don’t want to start playing fast and loose with, ‘You can count on this, no you can’t count on this.’ I just think we can vote on it and if you decide down the road that these guys aren’t making movements fast enough, we can let them know.”

Councilmember Jon Center agreed and said any discussions about whether or not CRG will actually move to Highland Park is “speculating.”

“I think it’s a dangerous game to start playing,” he said.

Blumberg said he didn’t support the grants due to his opposition to the boutique incentive program overall.

“I don’t believe a municipality should be investing in private enterprise,” he said.

Speaking in support, Councilmember Yumi Ross said she wants to see CRG open a restaurant and has hopes for the positive change it could bring to the area.

“I think it’ll be a larger restaurant and a boon to the Ravinia Business District and to Highland Park as a whole,” she said.

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