Dolton official urges targeted business recruitment; celebrity chef expresses interest near Pope Leo site

Speaker 1, an unidentified meeting participant, told attendees the village plans to be "more strategic and intentional" about recruiting businesses to downtown and to manufacturing areas, saying officials want "the right business in the right place" and have an "intentional plan" for placement and types of businesses.

The speaker also thanked the historic preservation committee, noting it has been led by village clerk Lisonbee Key and that a person named Garrett has been working on the commission. "We wanna thank you for all of that," the speaker said, and added that the village is "privileged to have the childhood home of Pope Leo in our community."

The speaker recounted an anecdote about a well-known chef — described in the meeting as "Oprah's personal chef" — who reportedly drove through Dolton, found the Pope Leo childhood property and said he might bring a restaurant to the village. "We did have a meeting with him roughly 2 to 3 months ago," the speaker said, adding the chef and the village had identified a few properties that are now the subject of negotiations.

On the likelihood of the restaurant materializing, the speaker described the outcome as "about a 50 50 proposition," saying talks are ongoing but not certain. The meeting then moved to a raffle announcement and other procedural items.

There were no formal motions or votes recorded in the provided transcript excerpt. The comments combined economic-development priorities with historic-preservation interest, presenting a potential tourism and local-business opportunity if negotiations succeed.