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Joliet to terminate Migraine Brewing lease; mayor says settlement lets city retake restaurant space
Summary
Mayor Terry Darcy told the pre-council meeting the city has negotiated terms to terminate the lease with Migraine Brewing Company LLC; the owner invested about $2.52 million in tenant improvements and the termination includes a settlement the mayor described during the meeting so the city can seek a new tenant.
Mayor Terry Darcy told the pre-council meeting that the city has an agreement to terminate the lease with Migraine Brewing Company LLC, allowing the city to reclaim the property and seek a new operator for the prominent location across from the Joliet Slammers stadium.
Darcy summarized the background, saying the brewerywhose owner spent substantial funds rehabilitating the propertyclosed in 2023 and that the city and the tenant have negotiated terms to end the lease so the city can market the space for another restaurant.
"The owner of Migraine, he expended a substantial sum of money into rehabbing this facility... I think the total was $2,520,000 that he expended for the city's benefit," Darcy said. He said earlier tenant improvement credits and resolution language established potential payments due if the lease was terminated at particular points.
Darcy said the negotiated arrangement allows the owner to walk away and the city to take the property back; "we have an agreement for 250 so that, he walks away and that we can take the property back and try to get some other restaurant in there," he said. The mayor did not provide further financial detail during the pre-council discussion.
City staff said they had spoken with the Joliet Slammers' ownership as one potential stakeholder for the location. The termination ordinance (Council memo 44-25) was on the council agenda for formal consideration; no vote was recorded at pre-council.
Why it matters: The property is a high-visibility downtown site. The mayor said the negotiated termination avoids protracted litigation or continued vacancy and allows the city to pursue a new tenant for a location the mayor described as viable for a restaurant.
The pre-council discussion did not include the leaseholder or an owner representative on the record; details of the settlement and any payment to the owner were not fully explained in the meeting transcript and are expected to appear in the formal council packet.
