Oswego debates plan for new video gambling cafe – Chicago Tribune

A proposal for a third video gambling cafe in Oswego has some village officials concerned.

"I don't want Oswego to be known for video gambling," Oswego Trustee Joe West said.

A representative of Hana's Hospitality, which operates a gambling cafe in Bradley and has plans to open another location in Park Forest, approached village trustees recently with a proposal for an Oswego location.

Fadi Mohammed said the business is interested in opening a 1,200-square-foot video gambling cafe in the Ogden Center strip mall near Routes 34 and 30 on the village's east side.

The village has two other video gambling cafes. Stella's Place opened earlier this year in the Townes Crossing shopping center at Route 30 and Douglas Road. PD's Place opened in the Mason Square shopping center at Route 34 and Douglas Road in 2015.

Nine other businesses in Oswego, which includes restaurants and bars as well as one fraternal organization and a club, have video gambling as a part of their operations.

Mohammed said the concept for the proposed new venue is to have a video gambling cafe with a New York deli style menu. Bradley-based Hana's Hospitality owns New York City Deli in Bourbonnais.

Oswego Village President Gail Johnson said the village is in the process of having a "philosophical" discussion of how many gambling cafes would be too many.

"There is a tipping point," she said.

However, Johnson said given the proposed location, she might be in favor of the proposal.

West said he thought the village was getting away from the original intent of video gambling, which was to help fraternal organizations and small eateries generate revenue and remain competitive with establishments in other communities.

Trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange said she would not be in favor of another video gambling cafe in the village.

Trustee Pam Parr said the proposed cafe would be in a shopping center in a low-profile area and in a retail space that has been vacant for a couple of years.

"I am leaning on supporting it because of this location and the fact that it would have a deli. If it would have been in any other location, I probably would not have been in favor of it," Parr said.

Trustees Ryan Kauffman, Judy Sollinger and Luis Perez said they would be in favor.

"We're talking about three (gambling cafes in Oswego) and not 30," Kauffman said.

"How can we say yes to one and no to another? I would prefer to say no to all of them," McCarthy-Lange said.

Johnson said she was in favor of the proposal solely based on the location.

"As the next petitioner comes before us we will struggle again with the question. If it was in a different (commercial) strip, my answer would have been very different," she said.

The village a couple of years ago changed the rules to require owners get final Village Board approval for video gambling parlors. The village has received nine other inquires from businesses interested in opening a video gambling parlor in Oswego, village officials said.

The new proposal will go back to the Village Board with detailed plans for the interior space and facade.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News

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Oswego debates plan for new video gambling cafe - Chicago Tribune