Park Grill
Encyclopedia
The Park Grill is the only full-service restaurant
included in the multi-billion dollar Millennium Park
project in Chicago
, Illinois
. Its outdoor seating area is the largest al fresco dining
area in Chicago. It has placed among the leaders in citywide best-of competitions for best burger and is widely praised for its views.
The exclusive location, the lucrative contract
terms, the investor
list, and a close personal relationship between a managing partner
of the restaurant and the Chicago Park District
's project manager
led to a formal ethics
investigation, court
litigation, and extensive press
coverage, and ranked among the most prominent scandals of the administration of Chicago Mayor
Richard M. Daley
in 2005. The more than 80 investors include some of Daley's friends and neighbors. One of the most financially successful restaurants in Chicago, the Park Grill remains exempt from property taxes after a multi-year litigation which reached the appellate courts in Illinois.
File:Millennium Park Map labels.png|Image map
of Millennium Park
. Each feature or label is wikilinked. Park Grill is located underneath AT&T Plaza
and Cloud Gate
. (Base image and authors are available here.) |alt=Rectangular map of a park about 1.5 times as wide as it is tall. The top half is dominated by the Pritzker Pavilion and Great Lawn. The lower half is divided into three roughly equal sections: (left to right) Wrigley Square, McCormick Tribune Plaza, and Crown Fountain. North is to the left.|300px|thumb|left
rect 51 18 145 80 McDonald's Cycle Center
rect 338 2 496 94BP Pedestrian Bridge
rect 497 62 536 101BP Pedestrian Bridge
rect 497 6 631 34 Columbus Drive
rect 10 88 154 104 Exelon Pavilion NE
rect 47 108 79 131 Exelon Pavilion NE
rect 619 95 754 112 Exelon Pavilion SE
rect 728 113 759 135 Exelon Pavilion SE
rect 10 246 166 263 Exelon Pavilion NW
rect 47 265 78 288 Exelon Pavilion NW
rect 613 243 762 258 Exelon Pavilion SW
rect 736 260 757 275 Exelon Pavilion SW
rect 44 149 174 229 Harris Theater
rect 175 103 572 288 Jay Pritzker Pavilion
rect 573 134 757 238 Lurie Garden
rect 572 311 718 329 Nichols Bridgeway
rect 516 298 777 306 Nichols Bridgeway
rect 58 350 207 396 Chase Promenade North
rect 291 350 453 396 Chase Promenade Central
rect 537 350 687 396 Chase Promenade South
rect 313 397 431 424 AT&T Plaza
rect 37 434 227 473 Boeing Gallery North
rect 516 433 757 469 Boeing Gallery South
rect 337 426 416 470 Cloud Gate
rect 60 486 216 546 Wrigley Square
rect 287 477 457 543 McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
rect 557 488 727 543 Crown Fountain
rect 308 567 439 583 Michigan Avenue
rect 1 316 23 442 Randolph Street
desc bottom-left
The Park Grill is located on North Michigan Avenue
in Chicago
in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District
. Cloud Gate
, a public sculpture, is located on AT&T Plaza
on the roof of the Park Grill.
During the summer months, the restaurant's outdoor seating area becomes the largest al fresco dining
area in Chicago. During the winter months, the restaurant's outdoor seating area becomes the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
, and diners in the 300-seat Park Grill overlook the ice skating
rink through floor-to-ceiling windows.
awarded a 20-year contract
to run the Park Grill to a partnership
, including several of Mayor
Richard M. Daley
's friends and neighbors.
s of the Park Grill are O'Malley and Horan . O'Malley, who once worked for the U.S. Representative Dan Rostenkowski
, runs the re-purposed firehouse, Chicago Firehouse Restaurant, which is located around the corner from the home of Mayor Richard M. Daley
, who has been a steady customer. The son of Alderman Edward Vrdolyak
has also been a business partner with O'Malley. Matthew O'Malley and his brother Paul were picked to run the Clock Tower Cafe at the Sydney Marovitz Golf Course in Lincoln Park
on the Chicago lakefront. James Horan is known for being a restaurant owner and caterer. He serves as president of Blue Plate Catering, which runs a cafe at Gallery 37, an after-school program created and fostered by Mayor Daley's wife, Maggie Daley.
O'Malley obtained commitments from over 80 prospective Park Grill investors, including some of Mayor Daley's friends and neighbors. Each share
of the restaurant cost investors $200,000. Among the investors are Daley's friend Fred Barbara, a nephew of the late Chicago Alderman
Fred Roti
. Barbara has ties to the Hired Truck Program
scandal and the blue bag
recycling controversy. Other investors include relatives of Daley's political adviser Timothy Degnan, two neighbors of the mayor, Ray Chinn, an O'Hare Airport contractor, and Rick Simon. Simon is a controversial figure who runs a janitor
ial business and sits on the board of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau
. Also among the investors is former congressman Morgan F. Murphy
, who has had business dealings with convicted labor union official John Serpico
. Among the vendors for Park Grill was an architectural metal company owned by the son of then Chicago Alderman Burton Natarus
(42nd).
and concession
stands, and a cafe in the new Millennium Park.
The Park Grill contract was signed February 11, 2003. The contract requires that Park Grill to pay a percent of net sales
and an additional fee of $275,000 per year, but the latter was not due until the Park Grill recouped half its build-out costs. As part of its deal, the Park District pays for water, gas, and garbage
collection at Park Grill. The garbage pickup costs taxpayers about $245,000 annually.
, spent 18 months negotiating a contract
with O'Malley's group. During that time, Laura Foxgrover, a top official in the Park District department directly overseeing the deal, gave birth to O'Malley 's child. Prior to working for the Park District, Foxgrover had been an employee of O'Malley as director of operations at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant. Foxgrover held the title "senior project manager
" at the Park District at an annual salary
of $94,000. In May 2002, Foxgrover wrote a memo recusing
herself from negotiations, without saying why, and never told her superiors she was carrying O'Malley's child. The girl was born in September, 2002.
Foxgrover remained involved in the Millennium Park restaurant after she recused herself from contract negotiations in May, 2002. In October 2003, Foxgrover spoke in favor of the restaurant getting a liquor license
before a Chicago City Council
committee
while O'Malley owed Foxgrover at least $5,000. On the same day, Foxgrover worked to get O'Malley's Clock Tower Cafe a liquor license
. In one July 2003 e-mail
, Foxgrover, then the acting director of park services, said that if O'Malley's contractor
had any questions for the Park District, she will be the point person. In August 2003, Horan sent out an e-mail mentioning a discussion Horan had with Foxgrover, in which Horan asked Foxgrover if the Park District would waive a form of insurance
on the restaurant's construction
. A provision in the Park Grill contract allows the restaurant to arrange a series of summer concerts on the Millennium Park ice-skating rink, drawing crowds that bolster food and drink sales. In summer 2004, O'Malley and his partners asked Clear Channel
-owned WNUA
Radio to conduct the concerts. In February 2005, Foxgrover led a five-member Park District committee that chose Clear Channel over JAM Productions to operate the new concert venue
at Northerly Island
on the former site of Meigs Field
.
Foxgrover was the subject of an ethics
investigation. An ethics officer for the Chicago Board of Ethics concluded that Foxgrover did not violate the district's ethics ordinance and should be allowed to keep her $90,000-a-year job as the Park District's director of development. By 2008, Foxgrover had left the Park District to work for O'Malley's restaurant management company.
, James Houlihan's office sent Horan and O'Malley a letter notifying Park Grill that it was being assessed at $502,550 and that it would be sent a bill in the fall for 2004 property taxes. On August 5, 2005, Horan and O'Malley filed a lawsuit
against the assessor, asking that a judge prohibit the county from imposing property taxes. The owners asserted that their contract to run Park Grill was a property tax exempt concessionaire agreement
and not a taxable lease
. The state's attorney's office, which defended the assessor in the case, said "our position is that the Park Grill is a leaseholder and as a leaseholder they are subject to taxes." In 2009, an appellate court
affirmed the circuit court's finding that the agreement to run Park Grill was not a lease
but a license
.
criticized the Park Grill deal, saying that lawyers for the city and the Chicago Park District erred and that the city wanted to renegotiate the pact. "Lawyers do make mistakes," Daley said. "That's what it was. ... It's embarrassing to them. Yes it is - the corporation counsel and the Park District counsel." In a February 9, 2005 letter to O'Malley and Horan, Chicago's Corporation Counsel
Mara Georges warned that the concession agreement "does not authorize your occupation of the Park Grill facilities" because the city owns the land, and City Hall should have been party to the original agreement when it was not. Chicago Park District Superintendent Tim Mitchell said the Park District also wanted to renegotiate the contract. On February 11, 2005, Daley asked state lawmakers to impose tougher penalties for defrauding tax payers, and was questioned by reporters about why the Park Grill had not paid any property taxes and gets free gas, water and garbage pick-up. Erma Tranter, president of the Friends of the Parks
watchdog group, speaking at a Park District Board of Commissioners meeting, questioned why the controversial Park Grill contract had yet to be renegotiated 11 months after Mayor Daley vowed to do so. The Chicago Sun-Times
dubbed the Park Grill the "Clout Cafe" and included the contract award process in a year-end review of Daley administration scandals.
named the restaurant among the five "Top Newcomers" to Chicago. The Park Grill began making money for its investors in its third year of operation, 2006, when investors split $527,250 in profits. In 2008 the Park Grill was named one of the top 100 highest-gross
ing independent restaurants in the US, serving approximately 300,000 meals and grossing approximately $(US)12,000,000 in sales
, making it the seventh largest independent restaurant in terms of sales in Chicago
in 2007 according to Restaurants and Institutions magazine. The Park Grill remains exempt from property taxes, and the contract has not been renegotiated.
is traditional American food
with international influences. Some sources describe the cuisine as New American
. Bernard Laskowski, formerly of Chicago restaurants Marche and mk, is the executive chef
. The Park Cafe, adjacent to the Park Grill, offers takeout food such as salads and sandwiches.
The restaurant is notable both its views, its location, and its cuisine, especially its hamburgers. Zagat lists Park Grill as one of the "choice outdoor spots in town." New City Chicago magazine named it one of the top 100 essential restaurants in the city, urging, "Ignore the scandal over sweetheart deals with the city for a moment and consider this: Park Grill sits in the hottest spot in the city today, if not in America." In both the 2006/07 and 2008/09 Zagats it was listed among the best of Chicago in both the Outdoors category and the Views category. Both of these surveys also lauded its fireplace.
Park Grill hamburgers achieved high citywide rankings in several publications, including best burgers in Time Out Chicago (2005), Chicago Magazine
(2008) and Citysearch
(2008).
The Unofficial Guide to Chicago points out the "spectacular view of the Chicago skyline, fronted by the ice rink at Millennium Park
." Fodor's
Chicago 2010 says "Location trumps service at Park Grill, where a seat on the patio
in summer, in full view of Millennium Park, is among the best in the city. Sadly, the waitstaff lapses..." The National Geographic's website's Chicago Walking Tour: Millennium and Grant Parks recommends the Park Grill as it "allows you to admire the surrounding architecture
passively." The restaurant was noted as one of the "99 Best of Chicago," named as one of three under the category of "Best Restaurants with a View" in Night+Day Chicago. The location, "under 'the bean' or next to a swarm of ice skaters, all convenient to the Loop," was cited by Crain's Chicago Business' Chicagobusiness.com website as a reason for including Park Grill as one of Chicago's best restaurants for business dining in 2010.
One drawback noted by The New York Times
in 2004 was that the restaurant workers took their cigarette breaks outside of a door that faces Crown Fountain
, which intrudes upon park visitors.
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
included in the multi-billion dollar Millennium Park
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
project in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Its outdoor seating area is the largest al fresco dining
Al fresco dining
Al Fresco dining is eating outside . In temperate climates it is especially popular in the summer months when temperatures and weather are most favorable. It is a style of dining that is casual and often party-like in its atmosphere...
area in Chicago. It has placed among the leaders in citywide best-of competitions for best burger and is widely praised for its views.
The exclusive location, the lucrative contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
terms, the investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
list, and a close personal relationship between a managing partner
Business partner
Business partner is a term used to denote a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a highly contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties...
of the restaurant and the Chicago Park District
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...
's project manager
Project manager
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software...
led to a formal ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
investigation, court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
litigation, and extensive press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
coverage, and ranked among the most prominent scandals of the administration of Chicago Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
in 2005. The more than 80 investors include some of Daley's friends and neighbors. One of the most financially successful restaurants in Chicago, the Park Grill remains exempt from property taxes after a multi-year litigation which reached the appellate courts in Illinois.
Location and views
Image map
In HTML and XHTML , an image map is a list of coordinates relating to a specific image, created in order to hyperlink areas of the image to various destinations . For example, a map of the world may have each country hyperlinked to further information about that country...
of Millennium Park
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
. Each feature or label is wikilinked. Park Grill is located underneath AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza is a public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture. It is located in Millennium Park, which is a park built to celebrate the third millennium and which is located within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States...
and Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and...
. (Base image and authors are available here.)
rect 51 18 145 80 McDonald's Cycle Center
McDonald's Cycle Center
McDonald's Cycle Center is an indoor bike station in the northeast corner of Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city of Chicago built the center at the intersection of East Randolph Street and Columbus Drive, and opened it July 2004...
rect 338 2 496 94BP Pedestrian Bridge
BP Pedestrian Bridge
The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Daley Bicentennial Plaza with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect...
rect 497 62 536 101BP Pedestrian Bridge
BP Pedestrian Bridge
The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Daley Bicentennial Plaza with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect...
rect 497 6 631 34 Columbus Drive
Columbus Drive (Chicago)
Columbus Drive is a north-south street in Chicago, Illinois which bisects Grant Park. It is 254 E in Chicago's street numbering system. Its south end is an interchange with Lake Shore Drive at Soldier Field...
rect 10 88 154 104 Exelon Pavilion NE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 47 108 79 131 Exelon Pavilion NE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 619 95 754 112 Exelon Pavilion SE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 728 113 759 135 Exelon Pavilion SE
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 10 246 166 263 Exelon Pavilion NW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 47 265 78 288 Exelon Pavilion NW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 613 243 762 258 Exelon Pavilion SW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 736 260 757 275 Exelon Pavilion SW
Exelon Pavilions
The Exelon Pavilions are four buildings that generate electricity from solar energy and provide access to underground parking in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
rect 44 149 174 229 Harris Theater
rect 175 103 572 288 Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph Street and east of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan...
rect 573 134 757 238 Lurie Garden
Lurie Garden
Lurie Garden is a garden located at the southern end of Millennium Park in the Loop area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Designed by Kathryn Gustafson, Piet Oudolf, and Robert Israel, it opened on July 16, 2004. The garden is a combination of perennials, bulbs, grasses,...
rect 572 311 718 329 Nichols Bridgeway
Nichols Bridgeway
The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Modern Wing, the Art Institute of Chicago's newest wing...
rect 516 298 777 306 Nichols Bridgeway
Nichols Bridgeway
The Nichols Bridgeway is a pedestrian bridge located in Chicago, Illinois. The bridge begins at the Great Lawn of Millennium Park, crosses over Monroe Street and connects to the third floor of the West Pavilion of the Modern Wing, the Art Institute of Chicago's newest wing...
rect 58 350 207 396 Chase Promenade North
Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade is an open-air, tree-lined pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The Promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation...
rect 291 350 453 396 Chase Promenade Central
Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade is an open-air, tree-lined pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The Promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation...
rect 537 350 687 396 Chase Promenade South
Chase Promenade
Chase Promenade is an open-air, tree-lined pedestrian walkway that opened July 16, 2004. It is part of Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The Promenade was made possible by a gift from the Bank One Foundation...
rect 313 397 431 424 AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza is a public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture. It is located in Millennium Park, which is a park built to celebrate the third millennium and which is located within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States...
rect 37 434 227 473 Boeing Gallery North
Boeing Galleries
- Past exhibitions :2005The first exhibition in the renamed Galleries was Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait, which was displayed on the Central Chase Promenade and South Boeing Gallery, appeared from June 10–October 10, 2005...
rect 516 433 757 469 Boeing Gallery South
Boeing Galleries
- Past exhibitions :2005The first exhibition in the renamed Galleries was Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait, which was displayed on the Central Chase Promenade and South Boeing Gallery, appeared from June 10–October 10, 2005...
rect 337 426 416 470 Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and...
rect 60 486 216 546 Wrigley Square
Wrigley Square
Wrigley Square is a public square located in the northwest section of Millennium Park in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District of the Loop area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, USA. The square is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of East Randolph Street and North Michigan...
rect 287 477 457 543 McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink or McCormick Tribune Plaza is a multi-purpose venue within Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA. On December 20, 2001, it became the first attraction in Millennium Park to open. The $3.2 million plaza was funded by a donation from...
rect 557 488 727 543 Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a...
rect 308 567 439 583 Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
rect 1 316 23 442 Randolph Street
Randolph Street (Chicago)
Randolph Street is a street in Chicago. It runs east-west through the Chicago Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway , and continuing west. It serves as the northern boundary of...
desc bottom-left
The Park Grill is located on North Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District
Historic Michigan Boulevard District
The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue between 11th or Roosevelt Road , depending on the source, and Randolph Streets and named after the nearby Great Lake...
. Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and...
, a public sculpture, is located on AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza
AT&T Plaza is a public space that hosts the Cloud Gate sculpture. It is located in Millennium Park, which is a park built to celebrate the third millennium and which is located within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States...
on the roof of the Park Grill.
During the summer months, the restaurant's outdoor seating area becomes the largest al fresco dining
Al fresco dining
Al Fresco dining is eating outside . In temperate climates it is especially popular in the summer months when temperatures and weather are most favorable. It is a style of dining that is casual and often party-like in its atmosphere...
area in Chicago. During the winter months, the restaurant's outdoor seating area becomes the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink or McCormick Tribune Plaza is a multi-purpose venue within Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA. On December 20, 2001, it became the first attraction in Millennium Park to open. The $3.2 million plaza was funded by a donation from...
, and diners in the 300-seat Park Grill overlook the ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
rink through floor-to-ceiling windows.
History
In late 2001, Matthew A. O'Malley and James Horan proposed Park Grill and Park Cafe to "provide both white-tablecloth meals and picnic-hamper fare for visitors in Millennium Park". In 2003, the Chicago Park DistrictChicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...
awarded a 20-year contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
to run the Park Grill to a partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
, including several of Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
's friends and neighbors.
Background of managing partners
The current managing partnerBusiness partner
Business partner is a term used to denote a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a highly contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties...
s of the Park Grill are O'Malley and Horan . O'Malley, who once worked for the U.S. Representative Dan Rostenkowski
Dan Rostenkowski
Daniel David "Dan" Rostenkowski was a United States Representative from Illinois, serving from 1959 to 1995. Raised in a blue-collar neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Rostenkowski rose to become one of the most powerful legislators in Washington. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
, runs the re-purposed firehouse, Chicago Firehouse Restaurant, which is located around the corner from the home of Mayor Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
, who has been a steady customer. The son of Alderman Edward Vrdolyak
Edward Vrdolyak
Edward Robert Vrdolyak is a noted Chicago lawyer and politician and a convicted felon. He was a powerful longtime Chicago Alderman and also head of the Cook County Democratic Party before running unsuccessfully for Mayor of Chicago as a Republican...
has also been a business partner with O'Malley. Matthew O'Malley and his brother Paul were picked to run the Clock Tower Cafe at the Sydney Marovitz Golf Course in Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park is an urban park in Chicago, which gave its name to the Lincoln Park, Chicago community area.Lincoln Park may also refer to:-Urban parks:*Lincoln Park , California*Lincoln Park, San Francisco, California...
on the Chicago lakefront. James Horan is known for being a restaurant owner and caterer. He serves as president of Blue Plate Catering, which runs a cafe at Gallery 37, an after-school program created and fostered by Mayor Daley's wife, Maggie Daley.
Background of investors
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
of the restaurant cost investors $200,000. Among the investors are Daley's friend Fred Barbara, a nephew of the late Chicago Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Fred Roti
Fred Roti
Fred B. Roti was a powerful and long serving Alderman of Chicago's First Ward. A federal jury convicted Roti on 11 counts of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, bribery and extortion.- Background :...
. Barbara has ties to the Hired Truck Program
Hired Truck Program
The Hired Truck Program was a scandal-plagued program in the city of Chicago that involved hiring private trucks to do city work. It was overhauled in 2004 after an investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that some participating companies were being paid for doing little or no work, had...
scandal and the blue bag
Blue bag
A blue bag is a blue coloured, semi-transparent bag for waste, mandated for use in some localities for refuse or for certain specific types of refuse: the distinguishing color serves to assist in recycling programs. Typically, it would be used for glass, plastic or polyethylene content.-Chicago,...
recycling controversy. Other investors include relatives of Daley's political adviser Timothy Degnan, two neighbors of the mayor, Ray Chinn, an O'Hare Airport contractor, and Rick Simon. Simon is a controversial figure who runs a janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
ial business and sits on the board of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau
Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau
The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, or CCTB, exists to promote Chicago to the global leisure travel and convention industries.The CCTB works in partnership with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the Chicago Office of Tourism, the City of Chicago, and the Illinois Department of...
. Also among the investors is former congressman Morgan F. Murphy
Morgan F. Murphy
Morgan Francis Murphy , was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Murphy attended Chicago parochial schools. He received a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1955 and was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Murphy received a J.D. from DePaul University School of Law in 1962...
, who has had business dealings with convicted labor union official John Serpico
International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers
The International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers or Novelty Workers traditionally represented workers at toy factories. Because that industry almost entirely moved to China, the trade union now represents other manufacturing, construction and healthcare workers...
. Among the vendors for Park Grill was an architectural metal company owned by the son of then Chicago Alderman Burton Natarus
Burton Natarus
Burton Natarus was Alderman of the 42nd Ward of Chicago from 1971 to 2007.-Early life:Natarus is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Later, he taught at Chicago’s Loyola University on the subject of local government. Natarus also served in the U.S. Army and the U.S...
(42nd).
Contract award process
O'Malley's and two other groups submitted proposals to run the restaurant in September 2001. The Park Grill group's proposal was twice as long as the other two but, technically, promised the Park District the lowest revenues. By the end of the year, O'Malley's team had been selected to run the restaurant, souvenirSouvenir
A souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...
and concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
stands, and a cafe in the new Millennium Park.
The Park Grill contract was signed February 11, 2003. The contract requires that Park Grill to pay a percent of net sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
and an additional fee of $275,000 per year, but the latter was not due until the Park Grill recouped half its build-out costs. As part of its deal, the Park District pays for water, gas, and garbage
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
collection at Park Grill. The garbage pickup costs taxpayers about $245,000 annually.
Park District project manager's relationship with contractor
The Park District team, including an outside consultantConsultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
, spent 18 months negotiating a contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
with O'Malley's group. During that time, Laura Foxgrover, a top official in the Park District department directly overseeing the deal, gave birth to O'Malley 's child. Prior to working for the Park District, Foxgrover had been an employee of O'Malley as director of operations at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant. Foxgrover held the title "senior project manager
Project manager
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software...
" at the Park District at an annual salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
of $94,000. In May 2002, Foxgrover wrote a memo recusing
Recusal
Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, refers to the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applicable statutes or canons of ethics may provide...
herself from negotiations, without saying why, and never told her superiors she was carrying O'Malley's child. The girl was born in September, 2002.
Foxgrover remained involved in the Millennium Park restaurant after she recused herself from contract negotiations in May, 2002. In October 2003, Foxgrover spoke in favor of the restaurant getting a liquor license
Liquor license
-Alberta:In Alberta, liquor licences are issued by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.-United Kingdom:Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. The individual responsible for the...
before a Chicago City Council
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms...
committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
while O'Malley owed Foxgrover at least $5,000. On the same day, Foxgrover worked to get O'Malley's Clock Tower Cafe a liquor license
Liquor license
-Alberta:In Alberta, liquor licences are issued by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.-United Kingdom:Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. The individual responsible for the...
. In one July 2003 e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, Foxgrover, then the acting director of park services, said that if O'Malley's contractor
Independent contractor
An independent contractor is a natural person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services to another entity under terms specified in a contract or within a verbal agreement. Unlike an employee, an independent contractor does not work regularly for an employer but works as and when...
had any questions for the Park District, she will be the point person. In August 2003, Horan sent out an e-mail mentioning a discussion Horan had with Foxgrover, in which Horan asked Foxgrover if the Park District would waive a form of insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
on the restaurant's construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
. A provision in the Park Grill contract allows the restaurant to arrange a series of summer concerts on the Millennium Park ice-skating rink, drawing crowds that bolster food and drink sales. In summer 2004, O'Malley and his partners asked Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
-owned WNUA
WNUA
WNUA is a Spanish Pop radio station located in Chicago, Illinois, owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications and branded as Mega 95.5.-History:...
Radio to conduct the concerts. In February 2005, Foxgrover led a five-member Park District committee that chose Clear Channel over JAM Productions to operate the new concert venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
at Northerly Island
Northerly Island
Northerly Island is a man-made peninsula along Chicago's lakefront. The site of the Adler Planetarium, Northerly Island connects to the mainland through a narrow isthmus along Solidarity Drive dominated by Neoclassical sculptures of Kościuszko, Havliček and Copernicus...
on the former site of Meigs Field
Meigs Field
Merrill C. Meigs Field Airport , was a single strip airport that operated from December 1948 until March 2003. It was built on Northerly Island, the man-made peninsula that was also the site of the 1933–1934 Century of Progress in Chicago....
.
Foxgrover was the subject of an ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
investigation. An ethics officer for the Chicago Board of Ethics concluded that Foxgrover did not violate the district's ethics ordinance and should be allowed to keep her $90,000-a-year job as the Park District's director of development. By 2008, Foxgrover had left the Park District to work for O'Malley's restaurant management company.
Exemption from property tax
On March 16, 2005, Cook County AssessorAssessor (property)
An assessor is a specialist who calculates the value of property. The value calculated by the assessor is then used as the basis for determining the amounts to be paid or assessed for tax or insurance purposes....
, James Houlihan's office sent Horan and O'Malley a letter notifying Park Grill that it was being assessed at $502,550 and that it would be sent a bill in the fall for 2004 property taxes. On August 5, 2005, Horan and O'Malley filed a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against the assessor, asking that a judge prohibit the county from imposing property taxes. The owners asserted that their contract to run Park Grill was a property tax exempt concessionaire agreement
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
and not a taxable lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
. The state's attorney's office, which defended the assessor in the case, said "our position is that the Park Grill is a leaseholder and as a leaseholder they are subject to taxes." In 2009, an appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
affirmed the circuit court's finding that the agreement to run Park Grill was not a lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
but a license
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
.
Daley administration response
Mayor Richard M. DaleyRichard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
criticized the Park Grill deal, saying that lawyers for the city and the Chicago Park District erred and that the city wanted to renegotiate the pact. "Lawyers do make mistakes," Daley said. "That's what it was. ... It's embarrassing to them. Yes it is - the corporation counsel and the Park District counsel." In a February 9, 2005 letter to O'Malley and Horan, Chicago's Corporation Counsel
Corporation Counsel
The Corporation Counsel is the title given to the chief legal officer in some municipal and county jurisdictions, who handles civil claims against the city, including negotiating settlements and defending the city when it is sued. Most corporation counsels do not prosecute criminal cases, though...
Mara Georges warned that the concession agreement "does not authorize your occupation of the Park Grill facilities" because the city owns the land, and City Hall should have been party to the original agreement when it was not. Chicago Park District Superintendent Tim Mitchell said the Park District also wanted to renegotiate the contract. On February 11, 2005, Daley asked state lawmakers to impose tougher penalties for defrauding tax payers, and was questioned by reporters about why the Park Grill had not paid any property taxes and gets free gas, water and garbage pick-up. Erma Tranter, president of the Friends of the Parks
Friends of the Parks
Friends of the Parks is a non-profit organization in Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1975, it acts as a watchdog group and environmental advocate for the Chicago area. Specifically, it monitors the condition and safety of the Chicago Park District and the forest preserves of Cook County.FOTP's office...
watchdog group, speaking at a Park District Board of Commissioners meeting, questioned why the controversial Park Grill contract had yet to be renegotiated 11 months after Mayor Daley vowed to do so. The Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
dubbed the Park Grill the "Clout Cafe" and included the contract award process in a year-end review of Daley administration scandals.
Profitability
The grand opening was set for November 24, 2003. In its first year of operation, Park Grill paid $162,656.72 in rent. The 2004/2005 Zagat SurveyZagat Survey
Zagat Survey was established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979 as a way to collect and correlate the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering New York City, the Zagats surveyed their friends. As of 2005, the Zagat Survey included 70 cities, with reviews based on the input of...
named the restaurant among the five "Top Newcomers" to Chicago. The Park Grill began making money for its investors in its third year of operation, 2006, when investors split $527,250 in profits. In 2008 the Park Grill was named one of the top 100 highest-gross
Gross (economics)
In economics, gross means before deductions. The antonym is net, meaning after deductions.-Usage:In this sense, it may appear an adjective, following the noun it modifies, e.g., "earned two million dollars, gross"...
ing independent restaurants in the US, serving approximately 300,000 meals and grossing approximately $(US)12,000,000 in sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
, making it the seventh largest independent restaurant in terms of sales in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 2007 according to Restaurants and Institutions magazine. The Park Grill remains exempt from property taxes, and the contract has not been renegotiated.
Menu
The menuMenu
In a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
is traditional American food
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
with international influences. Some sources describe the cuisine as New American
New American cuisine
New American cuisine is a term for upscale, contemporary cooking served primarily in restaurants in the United States. Combining flavors from America's melting pot with traditional techniques, New American cuisine includes ethnic twists on old standbys, Old World peasant dishes made from luxury...
. Bernard Laskowski, formerly of Chicago restaurants Marche and mk, is the executive chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
. The Park Cafe, adjacent to the Park Grill, offers takeout food such as salads and sandwiches.
Critical reviews
Park Grill hamburgers achieved high citywide rankings in several publications, including best burgers in Time Out Chicago (2005), Chicago Magazine
Chicago (magazine)
Chicago is a monthly magazine published by the Tribune Company. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, larger than People in its market...
(2008) and Citysearch
Citysearch
Citysearch is an online city guide that provides information about businesses in the categories of dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in cities throughout the United States. Visitors to each of Citysearch's local city guides will find contact information, maps, driving...
(2008).
The Unofficial Guide to Chicago points out the "spectacular view of the Chicago skyline, fronted by the ice rink at Millennium Park
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
." Fodor's
Fodor's
Fodor's is the world's largest publisher of English language travel and tourism information, and the first relatively professional producer of travel guidebooks...
Chicago 2010 says "Location trumps service at Park Grill, where a seat on the patio
Patio
A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
in summer, in full view of Millennium Park, is among the best in the city. Sadly, the waitstaff lapses..." The National Geographic's website's Chicago Walking Tour: Millennium and Grant Parks recommends the Park Grill as it "allows you to admire the surrounding architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
passively." The restaurant was noted as one of the "99 Best of Chicago," named as one of three under the category of "Best Restaurants with a View" in Night+Day Chicago. The location, "under 'the bean' or next to a swarm of ice skaters, all convenient to the Loop," was cited by Crain's Chicago Business' Chicagobusiness.com website as a reason for including Park Grill as one of Chicago's best restaurants for business dining in 2010.
One drawback noted by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in 2004 was that the restaurant workers took their cigarette breaks outside of a door that faces Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain
Crown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a...
, which intrudes upon park visitors.
External links
- Park Grill
- Dining and Accommodations on the Millennium Park website
- archive at Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- Chicago Board of Ethics