Neighbors to have a second say about banquet hall
By Dermot Connolly and Tim Hadac
Southwest Chicago Post
Several dozen Clearing residents interested in the future of the shuttered New Warsaw Restaurant & Banquets property, 6250 W. 63rd St., had their say last week.
More than 50 people turned out on Feb. 14 at the Clearing Branch Library to hear from businessman Filemon Ramirez, who is in the process of purchasing the New Warsaw from its longtime owner, Teresa Marcinkowski.
The gathering was held within the regularly scheduled CAPS Beat 812 meeting. It occurred because 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn downzoned the New Warsaw site from commercial to residential—a common tactic some aldermen use to slow or even stop the pace of change in business districts.
But because residents had only 60 minutes to ask questions (the meeting started at 7 p.m., and the library closes promptly at 8), Quinn has scheduled a second public meeting. It is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5 at Hale Park, 6258 W. 62nd St.
The alderman said he expects strong local participation in the meeting, including from the Clearing Night Force, as well as CAPS Beat 812 facilitator John Kurtovich.
Quinn wants clarity, not rumors
Quinn recently expressed dissatisfaction with Ramirez for not introducing himself to the community and discussing his plans for the property. The downzoning was his way to force that to occur.
“When people start seeing work done, and no information is provided, that is when rumors start to fly,” the alderman said. “That is why I filed an ordinance…asking for the zoning to be changed to residential. If I hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be having this meeting, and the business would just open. This gives the community a voice.”
Quinn assured residents that the property would not be turned into residential housing.
“It would just be a place-holder. It puts a pause on the process,” he said, noting that it would be require developers to bring their plans to the community to ask for a zoning change.
“That would be easy to do,” he said.
“That would be easy to do,” he said.
Attorney John Sugrue, representing Ramirez, acknowledged that not informing the 13rd Ward office and the community at large of the plans was a mistake. “I know a phone call would have helped,” he said.
Sugrue did most of the talking for Ramirez, who has signed a contract to purchase the property. Ramirez, a former Garfield Ridge resident, already owns two other banquet halls in the area: 3810 W. 63rd St. (Banquetes La Gloria 63, formerly Royalty East Banquet Hall) and 4152 W. 47th St. (La Gloria Banquet Hall, formerly The Manor on 47th).
Sugrue said Ramirez plans to have two banquet rooms on the premises, with room for about 300 people total. He said there are plans to invest “a lot of money” in the property, completely repaving the parking lot and adding exterior lighting.
At the Feb. 14 meeting, some residents raised concerns about cars spilling out of the parking lot into neighborhood streets when events are held there on weekends because there are about 30 parking spots in the lot.
State Rep. Angelica “Angie” Guerrero-Cuellar (D-22nd), who was also there, pointed out that during the summer, nearby Hale Park already draws crowds of people for baseball and other activities.
She and others predicted that both sides of 63rd Street would be lined with cars during banquets at the New Warsaw.
Judy Ollry, president of the Clearing Night Force neighborhood watch group, said she was most concerned about the fact that Ramirez does not plan to apply for a liquor license himself. Instead, Sugrue said he will hire caterers who will provide liquor when needed.
“I like to keep it simple. I work with a few caterers,” said Ramirez, who was in the back of the room at the library.
Sugrue said Ramirez does have his own team of bartenders.
“They are all BASSET-certified,” he said, referring to a training program bartenders can go through to learn how to handle intoxicated customers.”
Sugrue said Ramirez does have his own team of bartenders.
“They are all BASSET-certified,” he said, referring to a training program bartenders can go through to learn how to handle intoxicated customers.”
“I am old-school,” Ollry said. “Having worked for the city, I know that having the ability to take away a liquor license gives the city better control if there is a problem.”
“A banquet hall would be OK with me,” said Rosa Lee. “It is basically what was there before. But I want to find out more about Mr. Ramirez’s other businesses, to see if there were any problems.”
Police at the meeting said a review of activity at the 47th Street location over the past 12 months showed no police calls, but the 63rd Street location had not been checked yet.
Zenon McHugh, a small-business owner and officer with the Midway Chamber of Commerce, suggested that Ramirez’s business be given a chance.
“Roadblocks shouldn’t be put up for businesses,” he said. “If they are going to be community friendly, as they say they will, maybe we can have our baseball banquets there. It might be good for the community. Are they going to sponsor our teams and get involved in the community?”
In the end, Quinn appeared to agree to pause downzoning of the New Warsaw property, pending the outcome of another community meeting. The date and place of that meeting have not yet been determined.
“As always, I want to ensure that the community has ample opportunity to weigh in, that their voices are heard by those who want to conduct business here,” the alderman said.
Clearing residents not at the meeting also weighed in.
“This all seems suspicious to me,” said Jorge Marquez. “I want to know why this Hispanic businessman is being put through the wringer by the alderman. Did people object when the Mayfield became a banquet hall—or the European Chalet? I wonder.”
“I wish the Chicago Park District would buy the New Warsaw, knock it down and make parking for parents whose kids play baseball. football and soccer on Hale Park’s south fields,” said Margaret Kwiatkowski. “Every time there’s a game, these parents park wherever they can, and those of us living around here can’t even park in front of our own homes.”
New Warsaw had been open for years, but business seemed to be in a long, slow decline and was damaged greatly by the pandemic, as many others were. It closed in 2023.
Old-timers in the neighborhood may remember the site under its name in the 1960s and early 1970s: Margo’s Mansion, also a restaurant and banquet hall. Later that decade, it was known as the Velvet Coachman restaurant and then the New Golden Ox South.
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