November 23, 2009

Restaurants on Sixth and Main streets move forward

Ed Scharding and Roberta Schulz appear at Monday night's Public Safety and Licensing
Committee meeting to request a liquor license for Caliente, 600 Sixth St.


A Mexican nuevo restaurant on Sixth Street and a piano bar on Main Street both took steps forward Monday night.

The Public Safety and Licensing Committee approved a liquor license for Caliente in the former Timothy York's Bistro at 600 Sixth St.

Ed Scharding, owner of the building, and Roberta Schulz, owner of Out of the Pan who will also run Caliente, appeared before the committee. They described a restaurant and bar that will be open from 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. They didn't address the specific menu, but Mexican nuevo, or modern Mexican, generally is an upscale take on traditional Mexican.

Caliente will serve alcohol, but the drinks will fit the theme. The bar will be limited to margaritas, tequilas, Mexican beers and red and white sangrias, Schulz said. "If you want something else, you can come to Out of the Pan," she said.

Schulz plans to open Caliente by mid-December.

The committee voted unanimously in favor of the liquor license. Alderman Aron Wisneski, chairman of the committee, made mention of previous concerns about adding another liquor license to Sixth Street. Caliente is different, he said, because it's clearly a restaurant first and a bar second.

"This is a fundamentally different request," Wisneski said.

Scharding, who owns the building, is the applicant for the "Class B" liquor license. His request now heads to the City Council for final approval.

Robert Granger, left, appears before the committee Monday night. The commitee unanimously
approved his request for a liquor license for a piano bar at 240 Main St.


A new piano bar and restaurant at 240 Main St. also received a liquor license on a unanimous vote. Owner Robert Granger said the bar would have a "Sinatra" feel aimed at a more mature audience.

The restaurant menu will include appetizers for $5-$6 and entres for $10-$12, Granger said. It will be fine dining that's a step above typical bar food.

"I have no disrespect for places that serve hamburgers, but that's not going to be us," Granger said.

Granger brings a wealth of experience to the new bar and restaurant, which will be located next door to Uncorkt in the former Red Onion cafe. He said he's tended and managed bars for 33 years, most recently at Dino's Italian Restaurant in Racine.

"I know bartending and restaurants like the back of my hand," Granger said.

The new bar will employ six to 10 people and will be open 3-11 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and 3 to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. It will closed Sundays and Mondays.

Granger plans to open the week of Christmas. It will be non-smoking.

In response to a robo-call to neighbors within a half-mile of the proposed lounge, the city received four calls in opposition and one in support.

The committee voted unanimously to grant Granger a "Class B" liquor license. The request now heads to the City Council for final approval.

80 comments:

  1. More bars more bars! Lets drink our troubles away!
    We have no issues with drunk drivers, no issues with guns in bars. Lets have more!
    But no never ever any carry out stores evil incarnate! (when owned by Koreans)

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  2. I wish each business good luck, but predict the closing notice in < 1 year. In the winter there is no attraction for the downtown area, except empty storefronts.

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  3. This is great. I disagree with the first two Anonymous comments. These types of venues will bring people downtown. The more people that come downtown the more they will discover the gems that are down here and the more comfortable people will be with the idea of coming to downtown.

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  4. 8:09

    In the DAYLIGHT what is there to see or buy for the nonrich/white?
    Fast food that's about it.
    Fill up your bars and drink the night away! Party on!

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  5. In this company town, the "gems" are reserved for the oh-so-comfortable oligarchs and their pals from Cornell. Anyone who thinks that our downtown was designed with ordinary residents and their needs in mind doesn't know the coporate class and its elitist attitudes.

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  6. These are the days we really wonder if comments on stories are helpful/necessary.

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  7. Dustin

    Ask yourself why the rage? Why are people so upset that the posts go downhill so fast?
    Downtown is filing with bars vs retail
    IMHO the DRC moves heaven and earth to stop competing stores to open. You should remember what the DRC tried to pull with the Case Farmers Market what Deven himself accused the biggest backer of Downtown of, and you expect us to be happy?

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  8. Dustin

    Some comments are useful and constructive. Some are the complete opposite (useless and destructive).

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  9. Everyday makes me wonder if comments on stories are necessary/helpful. It's probably the same several people that make these comments and make the whole city seem miserable.

    Both places sound great by-the-way.

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  10. Mr Angry just had to get his shot in at the Johnsons...
    Is that you Mike???

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  11. Mr Angry just had to get his shot in at the Johnsons...
    Is that you Mike???

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  12. Sailors Pool Hall11/24/2009 9:43 AM

    Hundreds of thousands of people migrated north in the hopes of jobs and better lives. For the most part, they succeeded. They toiled in the factories of the north, making the owners rich and richer. Now that the jobs are gone, why can't those people understand that we don't need them anymore and just go away? How can we invest the city's tax dollars in private enterprise and real estate speculation with all those raggedy, needy descendants of Racine labor on the welfare rolls? Please leave. There are no jobs here for you except as servants to the hyper-privileged, and you aren't grateful enough for those.

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  13. Sailors, it's time for your to leave.

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  14. Dear Dustin, Until our working class and lower-middle class residents enjoy a decent standard of living, they aren't going to ooh-and-ah over a company town which offers them next to nothing. Positive comments usually are posted by happy people. Sad to say, anyone who isn't a member of the elite or its retainer classes has nothing to celebrate. Since toilers and other exploited folks don't want to risk losing jobs and paychecks by honking off the boss, they're going to vent their rage safely by posting anonymous negative comments.

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  15. Although negative comments may disturb the elite and its buddies, they're the common man's candid opinion of Racine and his sorry situation here. By the way, since when did voicing a negative attitude toward a bad environment become a crime? Why are we so afraid of ordinary folks and their gripes?

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  16. Personally, as a 40 year old female I welcome these two new businesses. I have to go to Kenosha or Milwaukee to get this kind of dining and cocktail experience. Racine should have something like this to offer its more mature residents. I am so hoping these two places are catering to a mature crowd.

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  17. Dear 10:05, We look down on complainers because the rich and their bourgeois flunkeys have brainwashed many of us to think that all our problems are our fault. Over in Western Europe it's very different. Because the people there are realists instead of dreamers, they know that most people have little if any power and, hence, must not be held responsible for most of their problems. Consequently, griping is prefectly acceptable and workers organize to elect officials who'll pay attention to their needs. To Europeans, collective problems require collective solutions, not the futile striving of grinning individualists who hope their upbeat attitude will persuade the rich to let them in the winner's circle. By and large, here individualists try to rise within the system without changing it. However, in Europe, classes rise and change the system.

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  18. Sailors Pool Hall11/24/2009 10:59 AM

    Time for me to leave? If you knew Racine, you'd know that Sailors Pool Hall left a long time ago, along with the writers, artists and other characters who hung out there. Community and art spring from within, growing out and upward. They are not fostered by wiping out the existing enclaves and then dictating what and where is art.

    Enjoy your fine dining while others go hungry within a few hundred feet of you.

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  19. I'm sorry to report that hunger is a fact of life for many low-income residents of our far-from-fair city. Just ask any educator about all the poor kids who qualify for free school lunches or contact the nice folks who staff our Food Bank. Although I don't want to offend anyone, there's something wrong with a town which offers a certain corporate crime clan's Ivy League lackeys pricey gourmet treats while workers exist on cheap glop which the rich wouldn't feed their precious pooches.

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  20. Dustin - give it up, you'll never be able to please Mr. Angry and the likes of his folks. If they are unable to enjoy these two new establishments, then they should shut up and go away because no matter how much they whine, they will not change a thing.

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  21. In any event, the new restaurants won't only "move forward." Within a year or two at the most, they'll either move out of Racine or fold forever. (Anyone who doubts this statement should research the high mortality rate of eateries in our sad city.)

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  22. While I've heard about some questionable behavior about the gentleman opening up the piano bar, I do wish him success. Hopefully, he can pay back folks he owes money to if the place works out. As for Roberta, Out of the Pan is by far one the best venues downtown in regards to food/ambiance. I have no doubt that Caliente will be equally as charming with the same standard of food as Out of the Pan. Finally, a decent Mexican place downtown! And, with Roberta's following there is no way this place will fold anytime soon. Good Luck to both!

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  23. Comments like that from Dustin who tried to ruin the reputation of a Racine business owner recently.

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  24. Amen! However, let's not forget that two expert cash-cadgers from Lighthouse Loot Lord and Lucre Lady Land couldn't make a so-called bistro and a pasta grill turn a profit. Then the good people who opened an upscale restaurant in that building wound up leaving because they experienced the same problem. Places which could flourish on Martha's Vineyard or in Door County can't make it in this poverty pit for obvious socio-economic reasons which we continue to ignore.

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  25. Sara in West Racine11/24/2009 11:51 AM

    If people are so poor (even though they may be going hungry while playing with their iPhones) maybe the negative commenters on this site could give up all of their own leisure activities to feed them instead of attacking these new businesses. I'm looking forward to both of these new places.

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  26. The "Amen!" was intended for the kind soul who wished that the new restaurants would prosper. Unfortunately, Racine's corporate class tends to spend its leisure time and money outside Racine. As for the folks who would drop cash downtown, they usually don't have anything left after they've paid their taxes and bills.

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  27. For your information, most of us donate canned goods to the Food Bank. As for the new places, enjoy them before the local economy drives them out of town to greener pastures.

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  28. 11:45 - Certainly people like you will never help make a go of it. But there will be many who do care and will enjoy the two new establishments and we'll try and help them not only survive but flourish. Like anything, there is risk in any new venture, but the only ones that succeed are those that take a risk.

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  29. Let's just hope that the restauranteurs don't forfeit their shirts. Scads of entrpreneurs have bet on Racine--and lost.

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  30. To be honest with you, trying to run a small business killed my Dad and is murdering my Brother by inches. If small business is the foundation of the American economy, we'd better change the system a.s.a.p.

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  31. None of my Canadian friends can believe how dumb we are here in America. Instead of organizing and demanding a social safety net from our government, we start small businesses which usually go nowhere except down the drain. (If the current depression knocks the nonsense and dreamy mentality out of the American character, it will be worth it. Then we'll concentrate on reality instead of fantasy and take care of our citizens the way every other developed post-industrial nation protects its people from poverty.

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  32. Ans as the economy in this city goes further downhill, there will be more anger and perhaps rage. Deals like get exposed in The uptown art project deals like the land give away for 5 acres of land for 7 min wage paying jobs I believe in time will mean The Mayor being voted out of office.
    WE need to demand what the hell is going on? Why does the city of Racine do so much in backroom deals? Why?

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  33. Now is the time to open a place on sixth street.FREE PARKING there's meters but the city has taken it upon them selfs to not inforce them All month!Don't waste your money pluging meters. By the way they want to increase parking fines! TWO FACED CITY!

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  34. I can not figure out the anger over these two new operations. According to the article, the people opening the operations are all experienced. This puts active businesses into empty buildings.

    I don't understand the anger in the blogs over these two new establishments.

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  35. I, for one, am glad to see a couple of new restaurants open downtown. There are a couple of really good places to eat already (i.e. Salute's, Old Madrid, Sticky Rice) that are reasonably priced, have good food and don't rape your wallet for the cost of a drink. Then there's the other side that are so expensive (i.e. Henry and Wanda's) or not so appetizing (i.e. Casablanca (unless you like Tex-Mex)) that I don't know how they stay in business. If these two new places have a good fare, reasonable prices and I won't go away hungry, then I'll probably patronize them. If they turn out to be priced so high as to be considered "artsy" or "Bistro-ish" then I probably won't. We'll just have to wait and see.

    As for the others posting here that blame everything wrong with Racine on JCW, rich industrialists, or anyone who has a nickel more than they do, why don't you just go to hell. It becomes more and more obvious with every post "Mr. Angry" puts on here that he has a personal axe to grind over JCW. What, you got fired for screwing up and now hold them responsible for everything that goes wrong? What a piece of work you are.

    As for those that constantly complain about the poor who seem to go hungry all the time, maybe you should stand in a grocery line and watch them buy cigarettes and booze and all the other things that ARE NOT supposed to be purchased on their welfare food cards. Maybe if they'd have gotten off their fat butts years ago and gotten an education or entered the workforce instead sitting there with their hand out, maybe they wouldn't be so hungry. I'm sorry, but the only ones I have any compassion for and am willing to supplement with my tax dollars are those that are truly (and verifiably) physically or mentally challenged and can not honestly provide for themselves. But, the welfare leaches that are defrauding the system, as far as I'm concerned they should all be cut off and let to starve. Maybe that will give them the push they need to be responsible for themselves. But quit blaming everything on the conservative middle-class or the wealthy. If you don’t like the fact that some industrialist is getting rich, don’t buy his products or don’t work for him. It’s really that simple.

    I know Pete and Dustin and I are at different political ends of the spectrum most of the time, but I’m very thankful to them for running articles like this, breaking new news stories (even if the JT does steal them), and for giving us the opportunity to voice our opinions, both overtly or anonymously. Maybe some of you jerks that constantly berate them should step back and consider that for a moment. Also keep in mind that this is a blog site and they have the right to report on an article in any way they see fit, whether I, or you, or even Mr. Angry
    likes it or not.

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  36. Dear 12:46 P.M., The much touted industrialists and their upper-middle class imitators brought us this depression. A strong leftist anti-corporate federal government will end it. Needed: a genuine left wing political party which will redistribute wealth. Then maybe our workers will have the cash to patronize decent restaurants.

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  37. This country is much too interested in individualism and insufficiently concerned about the well-being of society as a whole. We hector and bully the poor while blaming them for their sad situation when, in actuality, their only mistake was being born into low-income families. Since poor individuals possess very little power, we shouldn't hold them responsible for their plight. In lieu of judging them as individuals, we should be working to help them rise as a class. (Yes, I know there are rare cases of individual upward mobility. However, they're the exception to the rule and shouldn't be trotted out by bourgeois bullies to taunt our less-fortunate citizens.)

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  38. Mr. Angry - haven't the police caught up with you yet?

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  39. Dear Graham, Please ease up on the poor. Although you and I don't approve of cigs and booze, those items are about the only legal sources of pleasure they can afford. The idea that the poor have to be bipedal beavers who do nothing but work for peanuts to make the elite rich is ridiculous. As for the notion that the toilers should be scrambling to upgrade their job skills, that's a sick joke. Most of the people you excoriate are working two or even three rotten jobs to survive. Let them have a little fun--while work is important, it's only a part of life.

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  40. As long as the story of Racine is a tragic tale of two cities, we won't be able to accomplish anything worthwhile. Understandably, the poor trapped in Rat-Scene hate their oppressors. For their part, the wealthy private sector predators and their middle class emulators despise the poor while exploiting their cheap labor. On the whole, the rich in radiant Ray-Scene feel zero empathy for their victims. What Abraham Lincoln said about "a house divided" applies to Racine.

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  41. 1:30 - no matter what the article - you have the same post for everything. You've been doing this for weeks. You'll never change anything with your silly comment - and I say comment because it is always the same. the only question is - is it Rat-Scene or Ray-Scene. I get confused and apparently you are too. you also are very pathetic.

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  42. You'll also note that Mr (whinny pathetic little loser) Angry never mentions how how he helps the underpriviledged. That, apparently is someone elses job and if the Johnson's would only give away all of their money, everything would be ok.
    My bet is that he woudl be first in line and there would not be a lot left after he collected his "equal" share.

    Mike - it is you isn't it?

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  43. Will to bet that he didn't contribute to the Love and Charity Food Drive - it's a lot easier to bitch that someone else is selfish.

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  44. Just two more reasons why no one has to look further than downtown for dining, music and great theater :-) I have been drooling at the Caliente sign since the day I saw it- Cannot wait!

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  45. 12:46:

    AMEN to that!

    Holly

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  46. 1:08 PM:

    Do not forget that the "poor" in this country are the most priveleged poor in the world. What they "endure" here is a dream anywhere else in the world.

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  47. 5:26

    Tell that to the mother who can't feed her kids.
    Tell that to the elders who because of the tax hikes can not stay in there home.
    Tell that to those who are looking for any work and find none.

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  48. 5:26 has obviously never been anywhere but Florida for vacation. "Privileged" poor in Racine...what a sad and ignorant comment.

    Most developed countries provide everyone with healthcare. We are one of the only countries that does not. "Privileged" poor...despicable.

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  49. best of luck to the two new enterprises the more options downtown the better... any chance we can get a hardware store and a grocer downtown next?

    - compassion, empathy, and accountability are not opposing viewpoints -

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  50. Anon 12:56, please call "redistribution of wealth" what it really is: stealing from those who have EARNED it and giving it to the bastards that WON'T. Quit playing the left up as the new Robin Hood. The left (particularly liberals and socialists) simply play the poor for their own financial gain. Name one liberal democrat in office that doesn't have scads of money just like the entrepreneurs you hastily berate because they have more than you.

    Anon 1:08, another bleeding heart. Wake up! The American people are the most generous in the world. Wherever help and assistance is needed, worldwide, we are the first to donate and/or lend a hand. We would do the same for those in our society WHO TRULY NEED IT, the verifiably physically/mentally handicapped. But we are so fed up with the fraud and corruption in the system and then being taxed, taxed, taxed to compensate for it, and then being told by bleeding hearts like you that we're bullies when our taxes are constantly raised and our incomes are shrinking and we're in jeopardy of losing our homes and jobs. Maybe you should move to Cuba.

    Anon 1:21, you can't tell me that anyone who is living on the government dole and spending $150 to $230 per month on cigarettes is poor. I had to quit because it's too damned expensive of a luxury to support. When I see the "poor" out on the street with a sign begging for money and I see a pack of Marlboro in his pocket, he loses all sympathy from me. If he can afford a $7.00 pack of smokes, he can afford to buy his own damn food. I'm afraid that I do resent it when I see someone who's considered "poor" driving a nicer car than mine, smoking cigarettes, eating steaks in restaurants and generally living better than I do, all on the taxpayer's dollar. There's always been three basic classes in this country: the poor, the middle-class and the upper-class. I've seen many people educate themselves and work hard to move from one class up to another. And now you want to impose a government on us that is downwardly mobile? I think not.

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  51. Graham- I love it.. I gotta jump in though it's late...that's some argument man! And you've got great points...

    It seems that the way it's set up now, people are encouraged not to work.. They are actually making very fiscally sound decisions.. in a twisted way... if you're offered a job at $X/hr and it's less then you make with government assistance (unemployment/welfare/childcare/foodshare/energy assistance/rent subsidies/travel subsidies.. and whatever else included) why would you take the job? The money isn't quite enough on the dole, and so if you can subsidize your income in a cash economy (in many urban settings equate this to the drug trade- though not always) and live comfortably.. why wouldn't you?

    There has to be some financial incentive to get off the dole... at least have a work/training program for those on the dole so our communities' can benefit.. but then that's tricky too cause it's government subsidized programs competing with private industry (which isn't fair either)

    I, for one, don't want to get rolled/robbed every time I go somewhere.. car jackings.. kidnappings.. armed private security... ever been to Guatemala- there is no government assistance there, there're ultra rich and ultra poor, there are only so many jobs, and it isn't cool...people are dying/hurting.

    It's a hard issue to solve.. but somehow me working my fingers raw so someone else can chill out doesn't seem right either... hum..

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  52. One more..

    Pentagon budget in 2009... near one trillion dollars!...

    ~1/2 the US Gross National Product.(2.2 trillion)

    GDP measures every dollar exchanged..

    Corporate greed via the Truman Doctrine, NATO, IMF, and WTO is costing us common folks a lot of loot! -that money could really help us re-establish a manufacturing sector here at home.

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  53. Dear Graham, The rich snicker and sneer while middle class nickel-chasers squabble with the poor for the pathetic crumbs which the elite tosses in their direction. Instead of dumping on the poor, our middle class should identify with them.(Don't forget that many middle class families are only a few pay checks from poverty.) A pauper who plays the system for a few miserable dimes is less of a leech than a billionaire degener-twit who exploits thousands of middle class and poor toilers while dodging taxes and laughing all the way to the bank. Graham, please wake up and fight the real enemy--the corporate oligarchy.

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  54. On a more positive note, I hope those restaurants will survive and thrive!

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  55. This is not about rich or poor. I can guarantee these two enterprises are going to get rich on these endevours, but hopefully they can make enough to make it a viable existance for people to enjoy. Good luck and screw the naysayers. Even if they could afford to go, they might run into the Waxis, so why would they go?

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  56. On a more positive note that would please everyone - let the City assess the $10,000 liquor license fee for each and every establishment. Think of the funds that the City would be rolling in! There would be plenty of funds for additional police employees. Of course, there would not be any establishments any longer, but who cares, the public employees would be happy.

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  57. Anon 2:59, you still don't get it, do you? We are not attacking the legitimate poor, we are attacking the leeches that not only steal the tax dollars of the taxpayers but who also are diverting and stealing the resources that should be going to the legitimate poor. For someone to sit home and collect on the dole JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN is not a legitimate reason for doing so.

    And get off the backs of those who make more than you do. Does no one remember the phrase "America, the land of opportunity." Is there corporate corruption? You bet there is. Should it be dealt with? Yes. We should have taken those Enron a-holes, and the rest that followed, and strung them up. But, not all businesses and corporations are that way. The jealousy and hate for any business that makes a profit (which is what they do - DUH!) put forth here comes from losers who won't put forth the effort it takes to make it on their own and think the rest of us OWE them something. If it's so bad here, why don't you move to Guatemala and tell their government that they owe you a living or to redistribute their wealth. They'll shoot you down without a second thought.

    If these two new restaurants are priced affordable and present a good fare, then they will be good for Racine. But to the idiot that said (and I paraphrase) that the rich can sit in these two new restaurants and enjoy their meals while only feet away other people are starving, well, I say, if they want to eat in these two new restaurants then maybe they should get off their lazy asses, find a job, or start a business and elevate themselves to where they can afford to eat in these places. The chances are that the legitimate poor may never reach that mark, but who's to say that these restaurants won't be supporters of the food banks and meals on wheels, etc.

    I do hope both of the owners of these restaurants have a gold mine and get filthy rich from them. They will then be paying more in taxes, employing more people and contributing to the overall health and wealth of the entire city. Go boys!

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  58. Grahamy - still to long, but I agree.

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  59. Good Luck! I don't know why anyone would want to open a business downtown.Road construction EVERY year.no parking,and a city that don't care! They have high property taxes & the BID tax on top of it.FOR NOTHING

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  60. 10:39 - Apparently you don't go downtown - the constuction id finished. Come up with a better excuse.

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  61. I'm a "Waxie" and I'll be there, if for no other reason than to p**S off Mr Angry.

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  62. 10:39 I live and have owned a business downtown over 10 years.There has been constuction every year but one of them!Next year is seventh street and our round about on sixth.If they don't have to redo what they have done already!

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  63. 1:09 - Thanks a lot for the update, I'm sure no one knew that - hey it's over. The balance of the work will have very little effect on the downtown business. Get on with it - sell something.

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  64. I wish I knew who Mr. Angry was. You think he's pissed off now, wait until someone positively identifies him. He'll have plenty more to really be pissed at, if he survives.

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  65. Mr Angry is that gay guy that got canned b Johnsons and filed a lawsuit against them. He is deranged.

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  66. Don't know about the "gay" part (not that there is anything wrong with that) but that is exactly who I thought it was.

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  67. I wish the new restaurants good luck. Yet, downtown needs more than nice restaurants to be prosperous and authentically interesting. It needs a better mix of services and entertainment. And, yes, for us who live here the convenience store on 6th would have been great. Who wants to schlep to 31? Great cities are not over-coreographed or sanitized by City Councils. Get out of the way and let entrepreneurs take risks. It would have been great to be able to grab a gallon of milk (or a 6-pack of beer) on the way home after dinner at a 6th street restaurant.

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  68. Hey little person with the "sticky fingers".... Good luck with the new joint and quit fluffing your credentials. When we come back up to Racine next summer, we will make sure to avoid your new establishment. Ever notice why we never left you any tips? That's what happens when you run your mouth like a pompas ___. Maybe you should have used a little of that startup money to change your name. Maybe that’s why your investors are silent. Wonder who they are? Can’t wait to find out.

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  69. Anon 11:41, if you don't live here, why don't you butt out?

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  70. Chi-Town White Wine11/27/2009 1:40 PM

    Sorry, but I don't think so. Since I put people to work in your city, that kind of trumps me living there. The lesson "someone" should learn here is to be cautious of the people your come into contact with. They can make or break your business or career. Being good to people and being honest always helps!

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  71. ""I have no disrespect for places that serve hamburgers, but that's not going to be us," Granger said."


    well enjoy your failing business then, cause
    a piano bar in downtown=fail

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  72. Piano bar = Nice idea, wrong owner. Feel bad for the investors. Seems like this Robert guy has a poor reputaion around town based on the comments I have been reading.

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  73. Good Lord, All this because Downtown Racine is fortunate to have people willing and interested to invest in eateries. I am thrilled with the article and hope and Dustin and Pete keep up the good work in letting us know what is going on downtown. We plan on patronizing all the new places and still remain faithful to our regular Old Madrid.

    For those who have problems with it and want to get into the "poor" discussion, this isn't the topic. There are hundreds of poor people in Racine who don't even have transportation to get to a lower priced grocery and who do not smoke or drink. Angry people lash out at everything and everyone. It's time to either get medication or pull yourself away from your computer, shower and burn those pajamas you have been in for days.

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  74. Good luck to each of these establishments. I look forward to frequently them.

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  75. Hey I know we should have the eateries advertise and have a food drive for the hungry, they for sure will make a profit that night. That what we need downtown more mature Sinatra drunks walking around.

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  76. Интересно написано....но многое остается непонятнымb

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  77. Don't know how the piano bar guy was even able to find a partner!!! VERY bad credit, judgments to folks, and BAD reputation around town!!! He will never be able to run a business! I give it 2 years at best!

    Roberta on the other hand, congrats! This is a lady who will be able to make a go of it!

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  78. "the rich can sit in these two new restaurants and enjoy their meals"

    Are you kidding me? The "rich" dining at a place where the entrees are $10 - $12.

    Some of y'all need to get a grip on reality--and go back to school. The level of grammar, logic, and argument is pitiful.

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  79. How can someone open another business owing over $50,000. in back taxes???

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