No Joliet vote on El Dorado liquor

A vote on a liquor license for the El Dorado Banquet Hall on Plainfield Road will wait for another day.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday agreed to table the vote at the request of banquet hall owner Nelson Robles, who faced the likely prospect of being rejected.

Robles wants a license to sell liquor at the small banquet hall at 1399 Plainfield Road. He faces opposition from neighbors, who live nearby, and the city liquor commissioner, who also is Mayor Bob O’Dekirk and has recommended that the license be denied.

Councilwoman Jan Quillman at a Monday workshop meeting said Robles should have a vote tabled until he met with neighbors,. On Tuesday when it was time to vote, Quillman asked why the matter was being tabled.

Robles’ attorney basically said they were following Quillman’s suggestion.

Attorney John Partelow said he and Robles “heard the concerns” expressed by Quillman and others on Monday.

“It’s our intention to take some additional time for community engagement and have some community meetings,” Partelow said.

Partelow on Monday showed the council a plan to redevelop Robles’ property, which includes a Boost Mobile store next to the banquet hall, a house, a body shop on the back end of the site, and a commercial building on the west end. Revenue from the banquet hall and liquor sales would fund the development, he said.

The El Dorado Banquet Hall is 3,000 square feet with a capacity for 100 people. It has 48 parking spaces, although Partelow said other spaces on the property would be available during banquet hours.

The business property, like many others on Plainfield Road, lies close to houses behind it. A liquor commission report to the council noted that the nearest residence to the banquet hall is only 50 feet away.

Partelow on Monday pointed out that Robles’ property is next to a BP gas station that runs 24 hours “and this was a commercially zoned property before we even bought it.”

Partelow said the proposed development would be more friendly to the nearby neighbors by pushing commercial activity towards Plainfield Road.