Trustees send gaming sign back to the drawing board
Sign that was removed.
HUNTLEY – What’s in a word?
Plenty, if the word is gaming, meaning gambling, and placed on a sign for all the world to see on a business on the edge of downtown Huntley.
That’s what Michael Skala, manager of Goodfella’s Beef, found out Thursday when the village board of trustees turned around his proposal for sign changes on his few booths and carry-out restaurant in the Huntley Court strip mall along Route 47 just north of Coral Street.
Skala is in the middle of expanding his beefstand into the space formerly occupied by Honey Fluff Donuts, space that will allow him to realize the potential granted by the village in August, 2019, when the board approved a Class A liquor license and a video gaming license for the location. Goodfella’s won’t be the first restaurant in town with gaming devices; Lucky Bernie’s, also on Route 47, offers slot machines and mentions gaming on its sign out front.
The word “gaming,” shown on some sign designs Skala proposed for his current location and the adjacent Honey Fluff Donuts — referred to at the meeting by Skala and board members alike as Fluffy Donuts — was too prominently displayed for most of the board, with Trustee Niko Kanakaris taking special exception.
“It doesn’t look good. Who designed this? A five-year-old?” Kanakaris said.
“Well, I assume it’s probably the gaming guys,” Village Board President Charles Sass said. “They’re paying for it, and they want it big.”
Both of Skala’s proposals would have two signs in the existing sign boxes that now carry his Goodfella’s Beef logo and the Honey Fluff Donuts logo, rather than one sign across the combined storefronts. That drew negative comments from some trustees, but the main problem seemed to be the size of the word “gaming,” more than twice as large as the words “hot dogs, burgers, beef.”
“I didn’t think we wanted the gaming bigger,” said Village President Charles Sass.
Kanakaris agreed: “Right. It doesn’t even flow. It’s one business and it looks like two. It’s ugly. I don’t like it.”
Although they approved the gaming license more than a year ago, many trustees had a problem with the size of the letters telling the world what could be found inside. The images gave Kanakaris more ammunition to criticize Skala’s proposal and revisit the idea of gambling at a busy intersection in the middle of Huntley.
“It’s ugly,” Kanakaris said. “Once we were against gaming parlors, now we’ve got the word gaming double the size of the regular fonts. A year ago you didn’t want any gaming parlors now here you go. Here’s one right in the middle of town. The gaming was supposed to help businesses stay afloat and survive, not be the focus of it. It’s what you all said back in the day.”
An effort by Trustee Ronda Goldman to move all words except “gaming” to the sign with Goodfella’s name failed to draw any backing, and trustees agreed to have Skala reduce the size of the word while increasing the size of the words “hot dogs” and “burgers” in an effort to even out the signs and downplay the advertisement of gambling.
“This building should be in Rockford,” Kanakaris said.
“McHenry,” Sass offered.
“Rockford,” Kanakaris insisted. “Right downtown.”
Skala said the expansion will allow him to triple the size of his kitchen in the former donut shop while moving the slot machines into the current restaurant side. He thinks construction will be done by the end of October. The sign will be redesigned and submitted to village staff for approval.
