Politics & Government

Residents Debate Restaurant's Impact on Noise in Bluestone

The New Lenox Village Board unanimously approved later weeknight hours for Prime Time Restaurant & Bar, a move a couple residents said will worsen their quality of life because of more noise later into the night.

When the New Lenox Village Board discussed later weeknight hours for a restaurant in the Bluestone Bay area, residents from the subdivision were split on the impact that would have on their quality of life.

On Sept. 12, the board unanimously approved a later weeknight close time for , despite concerns from some residents that the extra hour would be primarily for drinking.It will allow Prime Time to stay open until midnight Sunday through Thursday instead of 11 p.m. (the weekend closing time is 1 a.m. and wouldn't change).

"It’s for drinking purposes and watching late-running sports games. No matter how you cut it, that’s a sports bar," said resident Rich Milkaris, who lives across the street on Schooner Drive. "I think the quality of life of the residents across the street will be greatly affected. We’ve gone through this before."

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The previous business in that location, Bluestone Bar & Grill, left a bad taste in some residents' mouths because of late-night issues with noise. But Dee Anderson, who also lives on Schooner, said she’s lived there seven years and hasn’t had any issues with Prime Time.

“I don’t want this board to think that everybody in Bluestone Bay is having this issue," she said. "The owner has a right to have a business."

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At a previous board meeting, Prime Time partner Angelo Gellis said he's lost substantial revenue by having to cut people off in the middle of popular sporting events, especially Bulls playoff games. With football season here, losing more business was a risk he didn't want to take.

So far, Prime Time hasn't had a single call or complaint go to the village or New Lenox Police Department, a point that made the board comfortable extending the hours.

Additionally, Mayor Tim Baldermann noted that the village's new liquor code passed last month allows it to demand food/drink receipts to determine whether a business is operating with the correct license. A majority of Prime Time’s sales are from food, but if that ever changed the village could revoke the business’ liquor license.

PLEASE VISIT the listing for Prime Time in the Patch Places business directory.


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