ST. CHARLES – The owner of a Glenview restaurant said he plans to take over McNally’s Traditional Irish Pub, 109 W. Main St., in St. Charles, with no immediate changes.
Bill Stavrou said he is still in talks with Maurice McNally to finalize the deal, but he and silent partner Richard Ross will become the primary owners. Stavrou owns Valley Lodge Restaurant in Glenview, which he said has been family owned since 1969.
Stavrou on Monday was at the city’s Government Operations Committee meeting. The committee recommended, by a 7-2 vote, to recommend granting a liquor license for McNally’s with Stavrou as the new managing partner.
Ward 4 aldermen Jim Martin and Jo Krieger continued their longstanding practice of voting no on liquor license requests.
McNally still might remain involved with the restaurant in some capacity, but he wants to turn more attention to his custom homebuilding and development work, Stavrou said. McNally was not at Monday’s meeting.
Stavrou said McNally’s will remain open during the ownership transition and keep its name. Patrons should expect the bar to remain the same during the first 90 to 120 days, he said.
“Although we won’t be making any big changes because it’s a success on its own, we can do things to make it more profitable and more attractive to the local clientele,” Stavrou said.
Stavrou said he will look to improve the general service to customers and consider food and drink menu changes at a later date.
The new McNally’s liquor license will be up for a full St. Charles City Council vote in April.