Brian Jason speaks about Walleye Grill closing at Current Events Club

SUN CITY – Though the doors shut on Walleye Grill on October 17, questions were just beginning to swirl as to what caused the restaurant’s abrupt closing.

Former Walleye Grill owner Brian Jason spoke at Sun City’s Current Events Club meeting Tuesday morning, November 23, in Drendel Ballroom to discuss some of residents’ lingering questions regarding why the Sun City Community Association Board closed the restaurant and Parker O’ Riley’s Pub last month.

After being introduced by moderator Dave Rosenfeldt, Jason addressed the crowd, saying he did not want to turn them against the board or rally them to his side.

“At this point, our family wants to move on and get this chapter of our lives over,” he said.

He also noted that some topics, such as terms of the contract, would not be answered, by recommendation of his lawyers.

Under Jason’s management, the Walleye Grill was about $100,000 behind in payments, which Jason attributed to the weakened economy creating a poor restaurant environment.

“We didn’t know what we were really getting into with a management contract like that,” Jason said.

The contract was signed in August of 2007, months before the recession was felt. Jason guaranteed the owed money would be repaid, however.

A question important to attendees who made holiday reservations at Walleye Grill was why the Board choose to shut the restaurant down just before the holiday season.

Rosenfeldt answered this by saying the Board felt the timing would give residents enough time to find other accommodations.

Jason guaranteed residents any deposits made for party reservations would be paid back in full after the holidays. He also offered the option of receiving twice the deposit amount in gift cards at The Barley House in Algonquin, another one of his restaurants.

One question that received agreement with the crowd was if Jason and the Board had known about Walleye Grill’s shortcomings ahead of its closing, why had they not notified the community, who, according to the attendees, would have increased attendance?

To this, Jason responded that “pride and trying to maintain the positive vibe of the restaurant” made it difficult.

“One thing that we tried to do was appease the masses, which we found out you really can’t do,” Jason said.

He added that some residents wanted Walleye Grill to be a high-end restaurant, while others would prefer a more casual atmosphere.

Jim Darow, N. 5, is one of the residents who would prefer casual dining at Walleye Grill.

“We go out quite frequently, but I’m not going to support a high-end restaurant on a regular basis,” he said. “I don’t spend that much on food, neither does anybody else out here. So the high-end I think is not going to work.”

If the restaurant was unable to receive money from Sun City residents, some wondered why Jason did not try advertising to attract an outside crowd. Jason responded by saying advertising has changed, but he has tried offering coupons in mail flyers in the past. “It’s hard to get people younger than the age allowed in here through the gate sometimes,” he said.

One resident asked Jason why he opened his other restaurants, The Barley House and Porter’s Pub in Elgin, last year, when Walleye Grill was struggling.

To this, Jason replied the recession gave great opportunities, such as not having to pay rent for the first year at The Barley House and not having to buy silverware or china at Porter’s Pub.

When asked what happened to the Walleye Grill staff, Jason replied that he has worked to find them jobs at his other restaurants. About 25 have found new positions.

Darow said although he still has questions about the nature of the contract, he sees Jason’s case as one to learn from.

“I would think the committee now should use this model as a model for failure. So what do we do now to make it better? What have we learned from this?”

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