Ultra lounge and restaurant owners update city committee on plans to open

Back in January 2009 we wrote about Ivanhoe Pub & Eatery owner Doug Nicholson's plans to open an "ultra lounge" on Main Street in the former Racine News building.

It looks like it'll be a few more months before the "green" night club, tentatively named "Envi," opens. Nicholson appeared before the Public Safety and Licensing Committee Monday night to update committee members on the status of the project. The City Council granted Nicholson a liquor license for Envi about 15 months ago.

Nicholson told the committee it would be four or five months before he's able to open. He is, however, working on remodeling the interior and exterior of the building, which he owns.

The committee is interested in Nicholson's progress, and the progress of two other establishments with liquor licenses, because Racine is close to the state-set limit on Class B liquor licenses. It only has three available licenses, at the moment, and those license cost $10,000 a piece because they are "reserve" licenses that technically exceed the city's legal limit.

Nicholson's club, as well as the proposed "Grumpy's" on Lathrop Avenue and "Gerald's" on Washington Avenue, all hold liquor licenses but have yet to open. All three owners were called before the Public Safety and Licensing Committee Monday night under a new city ordinance that requires liquor license holders to update the committee on their progress if they don't open within nine months of receiving the license.

Grumpy's owner Karley Barcalow told the committee her plans were delayed because used kitchen equipment she planned on using didn't pass health department inspection. She told the committee she's now seeking additional loans to buy new equipment and to open, but is having a hard time convincing a bank to help her. That said, she has made progress on opening at 2011 Lathrop Ave. and hopes to move forward within four to five months. Barcalow received her license last summer and had planned to open Sept. 1.

Gerald Bester, owner of Gerald's on Washington Avenue, is hoping for a late-May opening, he told the committee. Bester has been appearing regularly before city committees in recent months to gain approvals for his restaurant, cafe and comedy club in the former "Bank" building in Uptown. He had always planned a spring 2010 opening. 

Alderman Aron Wisneski, chairman of the Public Safety and Licensing Committee, said city staff confirmed all three business owners are making progress on their establishments. Under city ordinance, each will have to provide a written update to the committee in three months, if they don't open.

Restaurant planned at former nightclub 'The Bank' in Uptown

Gerald Bester plans to open a new restaurant in Uptown. "Gerald's" will be located at
1501 Washington Ave., the former home of "The Bank" nightclub.

The former nightclub "The Bank" in Racine's Uptown is ready for its next act.

Gerald Bester, of Milwaukee, is preparing to open a restaurant in the space that was once home to the controversial nightclub. Bester is planning to buy the building at 1501 Washington Ave. and turn it into "Gerald's," a restaurant he described as "upscale that's a step below elegant dining and two or three steps above fast food." The restaurant has a smokehouse theme and will serve a variety of specialty items, Bester said.

His plans took an important step forward Monday night. The City Council's Public Safety and Licensing Committee agreed to give Bester an alcohol license as soon as he adds a kitchen capable of serving 150 people in the building.

The committee grilled Bester on his plans, but a strong business plan and an endorsement from the Uptown Business Association won over the aldermen. They unanimously backed Bester's restaurant.

Bester said he plans to build the kitchen toward the end of October. Contractors and plans are lined up for the job, which will actually complete a kitchen started when a restaurant/bar called the "The Vault" was in business about five years ago.

Bester, of Milwaukee, hopes to open "Gerald's" in spring 2010. He has experience running businesses. He now owns a trucking company, which he plans to sell to open the restaurant, and is the former owner of "The Comedy Spot," a comedy club in Milwaukee.

He'll also have some help. Karl Kopp, the owner of Kopp's Frozen Custards in the Milwaukee area, will serve as a mentor. "He's agreed to help in every aspect of the business," Bester said.

The distinctive building at 1501 Washington Ave. (right) is a former bank that was converted into a nightclub in 2000. The interior is beautifully designed with a second-story balcony overlooking the floor.

The building has sat vacant for the last five years after "The Vault," a bar/restaurant that replaced "The Bank" nightclub shut down. "The Bank" was open from 2000 to 2003.

Current owner Linnea Anthony said several people looked at the building, but none were a good fit. "It's been waiting for Gerald," she said.

Richard Kemper, a dentist who lives a few buildings down from the proposed restaurant, spoke in favor of Bester receiving a liquor license as long as he puts in a full kitchen and treats the space more as a restaurant than a bar or nightclub. Kemper, speaking on behalf of the Uptown Business Association, said he was "cautiously optimistic" about Bester's proposal.

"We look forward to 2010," he said.

While the committee backed Bester, they made it near impossible for him to open just a bar at 1501 Washington Ave. Along with a finished kitchen, the committee required Bester to give them a menu, set hours of operation and come back to the committee if he makes any significant changes to his restaurant business plan at any time.

Bester agreed to the changes and the committee gave him the go ahead for a liquor license. The full City Council will vote on the license next week.