Mount Prospect's Brick City Tavern getting new owner and name
The revolving restaurant door at the corner of Main Street and Busse Avenue in downtown Mount Prospect is about to turn again.
Village trustees on Tuesday approved a liquor license for Station 34, which will replace Brick City Tavern at 34 S. Main St.
Brick City opened in the summer of 2017, replacing the eatery Bar 145. Before Bar 145, the site was home to the Blues Bar.
Station 34 owner Joe Irick of St. Charles said the name is a tribute to his father, a retired firefighter in Champaign. The business will combine the sports bar atmosphere of Brick City with a pizza pub concept.
He does not plan to close the business during the transition, and it will continue to bear the Brick City name during the early part of his ownership.
"I would like to go in and just transition and just kind of see what I have with the staff and be comfortable with the space," he said.
Irick brings extensive restaurant experience, having owned or operated several across three states for the past 16 years. He said he was director of operations for the largest Jimmy John's franchise and recently owned and operated Grinders Pizza in San Francisco.
Village officials welcomed him and the new concept Tuesday.
"While we're sorry that the current business owners are leaving, we're encouraged by Joe's business plan and his vision for Brick City," Village Manager Michael Cassady said.
"Brick City has been a real nice addition to our downtown," Trustee Paul Hoefert told Irick. "It sounds like you are going to build on that and grow it. I think it has nowhere to go but up, and it sounds like you are the guy to do that."
Brick City owner Chris Gelis said business had been picking up lately, but he and co-owner George Gelis "have other things we want to move forward with."
"He's getting it at the perfect time," Chris Gelis added. "I wish I came in at this time with all the redevelopment that's coming."