Mayor Delays Decision on Tilted Kilt Liquor License

Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl provided no resolution at Tuesday night’s Liquor Control Review Board meeting to the debate over whether the Tilted Kilt should be granted a liquor license, and hence be allowed to open in downtown Evanston’s Fountain Square.

Tisdahl, who holds the sole authority to allocate liquor licenses, said she will spend the coming days reviewing the application, supporting documents and other relevant information before providing a written decision sometime next week on whether to grant the Hooters-like Celtic themed restaurant and bar the right to serve alcohol.

Recently, the news of a Tilted Kilt potentially opening at 807 Davis St. caused a stir among some residents who decried the establishment as little more than a watered down strip club.

Last Thursday, to the restaurant, creating an online petition garnering nearly 2,000 signatures, which they presented to Tisdahl at Tuesday’s meeting.

Dissidents’ grounds for contention included accusations that the restaurant promotes institutional sexism, proliferates negative female stereotypes, encourages binge drinking, could deter other potential businesses from the downtown area and might damage Evanston’s reputation and ambiance.

Damien Flynn, an Evanston resident who spoke against the Tilted Kilt, said that the City of Evanston has the responsibility to make a decision in the best interest of all citizens.

“This is sexual entertainment masquerading as an eatery," Flynn said. “I have no intrinsic issue with sexually-based industries. … However, it is the role of government to determine where this freedom is exercised and to make those decisions in the collective interest of all people in Evanston.”

Yet others think that the city’s collective interest would be best served by granting the restaurant a liquor license and allowing it to open downtown. Tilted Kilt proponents argue that it is wrong to discourage free enterprise and that the restaurant would actually help Evanston economically, not only by attracting new businesses but through tax revenue.

“I don’t think [the City of Evanston] should restrict businesses coming into Evanston to engage in lawful activities,” said Greg Sultan, a longtime Evanston resident and local attorney. “I don’t know if I would go down to eat at this place, but it is wrong to have a group that is objecting because of their perception that somehow this is a horrible thing.”

Sultan also argued that skimpy clothing has become the norm and that more revealing garb could be found on the streets of Evanston.

“If [the waitress’s outfits] matter, should they then block off Sheridan Road, because come summer, the way the kids are going to be dressed, even the way the adults are going to be dressed at the beach?” Sultan asked, adding that he sees such attire across town.

Evanston businessman Ted Mavrakis, who applied for the Tilted Kilt liquor license, was joined by his wife, local attorney Carol Mengel, and two Tilted Kilt representatives at the meeting. Mavrakis argued that dissenters mischaracterized the restaurant based on things they had seen on the Internet and had never actually visited a franchise. The Tilted Kilt representatives heralded the chain as an upscale eatery that drew customers in with attractive women, but relied on an abundance of television screens, good food, and a large beer selection to keep people coming.

Though, as liquor commissioner, Tisdahl will have final say in granting a license, the four-member Liquor Control Review Board’s sole purpose is to serve as an advisory committee during her decision making process.

Of the three board members who spoke at the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, two seemed strongly in favor of giving the Tilted Kilt a shot.

Board member and longtime Evanston resident Richard Peach said the night’s debate sounded familiar to one’s he had heard when Evanston’s first liquor stores and bars opened years back. But that claims that such businesses would ruin the city proved untrue.

“I think that times are changing,” Peach said. “I haven’t been to a Tilted Kilt, but I have gotten emails from friends of mine, male and female who have been inside who have said that they like it, that it’s a nice place to go, that it’s not what appears on the Internet.”

However, board member Patrick Hughes expressed hesitance and reluctance at the prospect of granting a liquor license to the Tilted Kilt. Still, he admitted his aversion to the business may not be reason enough for denial.

“I’m conflicted here,” Hughes said. “I have to say that I’m not personally that excited about this business, but ... I can’t say much about it other than I have an opinion about it and it’s not in my favor.”

There are currently eight Tilted Kilts in the Chicagoland area and 54 across the United States.