New restaurant to open in Park Ridge; owner promises fair conditions for staff – Chicago Tribune
A restaurant set to open in Park Ridge in the first half of July will offer diners three options, according to an owner and his liquor license application: a full-service, sit-down restaurant serving Mediterranean and American dishes, a fast-food-style restaurant offering gyros and an area with two golf simulators and a bar area.
Athan “Tom” Sotos, majority owner of the new Social 18/Mully’s Grill restaurant at 24 Main Street in Park Ridge, received a liquor license from the City of Park Ridge after the City Council approved it on June 17.
Sotos said the gyros portion of the restaurant will look a lot like the former Wally’s restaurant in Park Ridge, which has been closed for a few years. The sit-down restaurant will feature gyros, chicken, skirt steaks, ribs, pork skewers, fried shrimp and other dishes, according to the liquor license application.
Sotos previously co-owned the Tilted Kilt restaurant in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood. In 2012, a group of employees filed a civil lawsuit against him and the ownership group for creating a “sexually hostile” atmosphere at the restaurant. According to the complaint, the ownership group included Sotos, Chris Tomaras and TI Management Group, LLC.
Sotos said last week that he would not comment on the lawsuit filed 12 years ago, but that he would take steps to avoid creating a sexually hostile environment at Mully’s Grill.
“I’m aware of what happened in 2012,” Sotos said. “And I will never let something like that happen again in any of my businesses. We take this part of the restaurant business very seriously.”
The 28-point complaint accuses an unnamed manager and co-owner of creating a “sexually hostile, offensive, humiliating and degrading work environment.” The manager and unnamed co-owner inappropriately touched the plaintiffs, made inappropriate comments to them, attempted to kiss one of the plaintiffs, made lewd comments such as discussing pornography and engaged in other unwelcome and improper behavior.
The attorney who represented the plaintiffs at the time, Mark Roth, said last week that he did not want to comment on the 12-year-old case.
Roth and Sotos declined to comment on the final outcome of the case. Court documents indicate a judge ruled the case could not be refiled, but do not indicate whether a settlement was reached.
Sotos said he plans to create a human resources department and provide sexual harassment training to all Mully’s Grill employees, managers and owners. He said he took similar precautions when he learned of the harassment in 2012.
Mully’s Grill will hire both men and women, and while there will be no specific uniform, Sotos said there will be a dress code. Sotos will be a full-time on-site manager at Mully’s Grill for the start-up phase.
Tilted Kilt employees wore a uniform consisting of a low-cut bikini-style top and a miniskirt, leaving the midriff bare.
Park Ridge municipal code prohibits anyone convicted of a crime “contrary to decency or morality” from obtaining a liquor license.
Asked whether the liquor commission was aware of or had discussed Sotos’ previous lawsuit, Park Ridge Mayor Marty Maloney said the issue had not been raised at liquor license review board meetings or at city council.
Asked if the commission had the discretion to deny a liquor license to someone charged with a crime that violates decency or morality, Maloney said, “Mr. Sotos has been a resident of the city for many years and has contributed positively to our community in many ways, including serving as a member of the School District 64 Board of Trustees for eight years. I am pleased and grateful that he has decided to invest in the community in which he grew up.”
“(Sotos) is working to bring his ideas and this restaurant to this section of Main Street, which is important to the city, as we look to expand the energy of Main Street further east of his location. This is an exciting opportunity and I look forward to its success.”
The liquor license lists Athan “Tom” Sotos, John Sotos and Bobby Giotakis as owners of the new establishment.
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