"We are taking proactive measures to find businesses that compliment our business community," Neukirch said.

STOP IT. STOP IT NOW.

I'm sick and tired of reading about how our elected officials are reaching their hands into our pockets to raise our property taxes (again), and then we have the statement above. Find a tenant. One who will employ people and who will pay taxes. Period. If it's a chain fine. If it's a bank. Fine. We need to stop doing things against taxpayer interest and start doing things to foster a positive economic community.

What possibly can elected officials do to help bring in businesses other than tax incentives (agree, at our expense), but is this the case or are they just giving inane sound bites? M restaurant was way overpriced, food was just average, I ate there once and thought it was way too expensive for a tiny restaurant with no ambiance to charge-our table had a view of the window into the kitchen, and for $30 an entree, hell no. I'm sure this had something to do with their not lasting, which its always sad when businesses fail, but, to try to be something they're not and think people will pay Gold Coast prices out here for that- perhaps had they altered their menu and reached out to promote themselves it could have had a chance.

You are really one angry person, whats with you?

The location on the Northeast corner of Green Bay and Central gets little foot traffic and you have to park in the Garage as there is little street parking within a block of the location. This is a terrible spot for a restaurant and not great for retail. None of the many businesses to locate there have been able to survive. Lets consider this to be a redevelopment site. Can it be combined with another lot to allow for an office building?

Jon Plotkin is absolutely right. Business, especially the restaurants east of St. Johns, have been affected in lost revenues, by the closed Highland Park Theatre. People loved the convenience of parking once and then walking to all the nearby restaurants after the movie let out. Now they are probably at Northbrook Court. Let's do all we can to bring back the theatre and business back to Highland Park. Just ask the restaurant owners, what a change this closure has made to our part of town.

From what I understand, Perchence is a holiday pop-up shop, only to stick around until the holidays.

I have to say, when Steve S. is right, he's right. Good call. I've been to the HP movie theatre 100 times in my life. The last thing I wanted to do after sitting in those uncomfortable seats was sit down at a local restaurant. Just sayin.

Wanna see the future of Obamanation? Take a nice, leisurely stroll through Long Grove.

People do not drive down the Edens and exit Central Avenue East to dine in HP. They do not drive from the South along Greenbay Road either. The eateries must be supported by the people in HP otherwise they fail. HP will never be a destination restaurant location.

M closed at least a month ago.

Whatever happened to Panera Bread opening a store? thought the city said it was going in the two empty stores south of Michaels. The stores have a for rent sign in them.

Since the author of this article asked for restaurant suggestions, here's one: How about a nice Greek restaurant? Not a Greek-owned coffee shop. A good one will have great food at reasonaable prices. Last night a friend in the city invited me to join him for a Bulls Game. We went to the Greek Isles on Halsted. He had the Meditteranean sea bass for $20 and I had the griled calemari for $14. The Greek Isles has been around "forever" and goes to proved that all you need to succeed is a good product with reasonable service and fair prices. Too many people starting businesses, even those that aren't restaurants, don't realize this basci business fact. I believe that Chicagoans and other midwestern folks work hard for their money and like to have value for what they purchase. These issues are even more important in tough economic times.

To Steve S,
You are the only one who made sense to me. You are not in food service by any chance, are you?

"We are taking proactive measures to find businesses that compliment our business community," Neukirch said.
Really? Does that mean more overpriced, fake "bling" where there once was a book store? Take a look at the north shore census and see what 'burb isn't at the top, or even in the running... time to go back to being the place we once were and stop whoring out to anything that (momentarily) pays the rent?
How about a hardware store?

Not all families in Highland Park have lots of money. Many families have experienced having their breadwinner lose their job. Also, families cannot afford places like M. We need more restaurants that cater to families and that charge reasonable prices. It would be great to have a deli in downtown HP (like Max's), a Cuban restaurant, an independent sandwich place (like Bourgois Pig in the city)-something other than Chinese, upscale and generic (e.g. City Park Grill).

My choice for best family food at reasonable prices has and always be.............."Players Grill" in Westside Highland Park. The food is always hot and the insults are free. That's my kinda place. The Have a wide variety of food and they deliver far.

M has been closed for over a month, author had no idea. He is right on top of the business pulse in HP, said it closed last week. Black Cat Cafe opened in Port Clinton where the Starbucks used to be. Another pricey place, so far they serve way over priced coffee and pastries. Also beer and wine at night. I give it 6 months with the rent they must be paying at Port Clinton.

Rumor has it Corner Bakery closed because the rent went up when a new owner took over the building. Rising rents in this economy = closed business.

I see the comments range from blaming the city, the landlords, and the restaurant owners; all businesses need customers. It's a tough business being a small business owner; we all need the community support. If the restaurants in question had that, they may still be open.

If Wisconsin were accross the street.. It would be worse. Too many taxes and taxing bodies.

The restaurant M was very good with a lovely owner who deserved to be patronized. They had a wide range of choices that would appeal to most any palate. It's sad that they've closed. I agree that the location is a bit of a problem as people are often too lazy to park underground and walk a block or two. As much as we eat out (which is a lot), we didn't go to M often as it was an expensive place to eat during the week. The same is true for Benjamin (which is very good) and Moderno (which has nothing plain enough for us!). I would love to have another casual place for lunch or dinner like City Park Grill or Nortons where one could go for a salad, a sandwich, or a regular meal and not break the bank, and a place where one can get in and out and not spend hours eating. I think the problem has to a great extent been the nature of the restaurant placed there. In addition, the kitchen and stove there is very small and negatively impacts service. The other thing I think that needs to be considered when attracting businesses to downtown H.P. is the type of business - don't put two cupcake places across the street from each other - one is bound to fail, if not both. Don't put a ton of children's clothing stores in the same block, or ice cream shops, etc. as eventually one ofr more will close.

I never went to “M” but I did buy paint at Inman’s paint. And my suits have a Fells tag in them. The problem is multi-faceted from landlord’s high rents to a small businesses inability to purchase their property .Also the high cost to having employs is crippling, with shrinking margins and higher tax liability’s odds of success are even further reduced. I have always considered myself a loyal H.P. shopper, not because I want the taxes to stay local but that I like the business owners. Slowly I have watched the down town become a frivolous shopping mall that lacks one big thing, something I actually need.

Nooooo! Not Las Palmas too! Are they closed yet? I'm going there right now for some skirt steak and gulf shrimp. Well, I'll miss Mel, but I'm sure he'll be at one of the other many locations.

Another quick point, when our last mayor started the buy local hype, he had the city buy a fleet of Toyota Prius’. I keep driving around the city looking for the Toyota dealer??

why don't they close Central Street to traffic and turn it into a Pedestrian mall. if you
make it similar to lincoln Road in Miami. Brick it and make it an inviting place to hang out. you really cant drive down central St anyways its always to crowded... and all you will loose is two dozen or so parking spots.

Must be a great location. Otherwise why would so many people respond and complain about everything.

To paraphrase a Yogi Berra attributed quote "Central Street is so crowded, no one drives there anymore.

We will miss M.! It was a wonderful restaurant with wonderful people -- Missy and team -- and fantastic food and environment!

This is Highland Park. If we wanted parking garages, we'd live in the city. More parking spaces have been needed since before Port Clinton went in. So many people complained that there would be less parking, when we needed more, that the city stated that they were proud that they only lost 3 parking spaces after it was done.

The city just doesn't get it. When you go to Northbrook mall, you know you will find a space, and not have to go into a scary/dangerous garage. And now we hear that the HP Theater redevelopment is going to eliminate a lot, then create a garage across the street. I wonder what kind of tax incentives they will offer to businesses when that street starts blacking out.

My God you people are missing the point! it's not the rent or incentives or parking....you could add a thousand spaces and places like M and CB would still be dust. What needs to be added is fannies into the seats of these restaurants. Adding parking does not equate to adding fannies! HP is not nor ever will be a destination restaurant location. Drop the rock!!

My feelings do not fit in one post so please bare with me and read this in sections.

I have read enough of these comments and they are driving me batty.

The reason a business goes out of business is because the residents of the town and the surrounding communities don't support it. Plain and simple. Now if this restaurant did not do a good job with the food or the pricing then they hung themselves.

I am so sick of hearing how bad everyone feels when a business fails in their neighborhood. But I have to ask you, When was the last time you went and supported the business that failed? Without the communities support no business will succeed.

To the individual who said get a business in the space no matter what it is... Guess what, your position on saving the taxpayers by getting any old business in the space, especially a bank that pays zero taxes to the city, certainly will not keep the politicians from raising your taxes. You need a business that contributes to the city's economy to keep the city from reaching in your pockets. That is why the city gets involved and attempts to choose wisely. And as far as the chain businesses are concerned, they are already over saturated in this area. We need mom and pop places back again. People love to shop at places with varied goods and services, based upon the owners taste and personality. Do you get that from a chain or big business? No!

I can tell you from experience in Highwood that to many like businesses are the problem here. To many Dry Cleaners, To many Chinese restaurants, To many Latin Markets, To many Liquor stores, to many Hair Salons, etc... When to many of any business comes to an area then none of them will do well. There are only so many customers to go around in a market area. Which means none of the businesses get the amount of customers they need to do well. Which is another reason that cities who wish to thrive, pay attention to who and what is allowed to open within the city's boundaries. It is in the best interest of the city, it's residents and it's businesses.

Has anyone brought up the current state of the paranoid economy? Nobody is out spending anything but what they absolutely have to this year, and in recent years as well. There is a huge fear of what the economy holds for us as citizens in the coming years. So until Chicken Little stops running around telling everyone the sky is falling the economy will not get better.

So long as we all hold our purse strings so tight and do not go out and support these businesses, they will continue to fail and, consequently the economy will still suffer. We need currency to change hands in order for a free market economy to thrive. So get out there and spend some money folks.

As far as the suggestion for a Greek restaurant, Here Here!! The Greek restaurant you spoke of on Roger Williams in Ravinia was years ago and it was called the Agean Isles, it was outstanding. So was Yannis OPA in Highwood, but both suffered lack of customer disease. The demographic of this area has one problem, If you draw a 5 mile circle around a business location in Highland Park, Highwood, Lake forest, Lake Bluff, Glencoe etc... at least 1/3 of that circle is going to be out in Lake Michigan, and fish don't go out to dinner or lunch. So the locations have a disadvantage from the get go. All the more reason to need the communities support.

So while everyone is trying to figure out why all these businesses are closing, look in the mirror, are you supporting them? Or are you going to Costco or Sam's Club where you can get that Hot Dog and a drink for a $1.50 . It seems the only way to get a customer these days is to price your services or products so cheap that you as a business owner loose money. And last I checked, that was not a formula for staying in business. Businesses like Costco can afford to have lost leaders like the $1.50 hot dog and drink, because they are making up the difference on that bulk bag of Oreo cookies you are taking home, or the gross of frozen potato skins that are going to crowd everything else out of your freezer! Most small businesses do not have that ability.

I am a business owner in the area as well and I can tell you business visit frequency has gone down steadily for the past three plus years. Most of us are hanging on by a thread. This year is the absolute slowest Holiday season I have had in my career. And I have been plying my trade since 1979. So I know my product and service are up to par. I watch my competitions prices closely and I know I am competitive. This is why as business owners we are so bloody frustrated. We love what we do, but we need your support.

Hope and Change were promised during the campaigns... Hope for some change in my pocket is all I have seen so far. I wish I had a better and more hopeful outlook. But until something changes the only light I see at the end of the tunnel is a train coming my direction.

So prove me wrong and listen to American Expresses new small business campaign. Read the Holiday signs Highland Park has put up, Get out and support your local businesses if you want to keep your city healthy and the politicians out of your pockets. We will gladly pay our share of the sales tax to the community that supports us. But without support from the residents of the towns we have our business in, then we are dead in the water and your taxes will likely go up.

Let's all have a great Holiday Season this year, Go out and patronize your city's local businesses with great frequency and stories like this one will become a thing of the past.

Thanks for listening.

Oversupply of high end stores during the worst economic downturn.

So Steve S. Cornery Bakery's food was bad and not well priced? You are delusional. Michael's food is good and overpriced but still strong. HP is a restaurant enigma.

David, I understand what you are saying, but I think you have missed my point. The discussion here was about yet another business closing in Highland Park, And why.

The point I was attempting to get across is that we as members of our community need to support that community if we are to have a viable city. The city not only depends on real estate taxes for revenue, it subsidizes that income with revenues generated for them by the local business community.

My point is don't complain about taxes rising or a non viable community if your not willing to go out and support the very entities that are there not only for your enjoyment and or convenience, but also for contributing to your communities economic health.

You do not help your community by shopping on the internet, or by supporting big box stores in Vernon Hills. The Wal Marts of the world support China and places alike, They do not support Highland park or Highwood.

Mom and Pop stores are founded by risk taking entrepreneuars who seek a better life. They create a place for others not only to shop and enjoy, but also create jobs as well as collect taxes to aid the community.

My feeling is if we are to turn this economic crisis around, we need to do it by supporting America. And supporting America and Americans starts at home.

I ordered a piece of fish at bluegrass tonight for $28, but it didn't phase me.. The waiter was awsome, the owner came to the table, the quality was excellent - CONSISTENCY. I go to bluegrass 3-4 times per month. Expensive, sorta. Locally owned, yes. Quality, you betcha. People will always pay for quality.

I will have to try Bluegrass. I've never been there before. Maybe that area is a best kept secret because Players Grill is very successful. Hell, the place even burned down, came back, and is still popular.

Can’t say enough about Jim Lederer his wife and Chef Warren. Three thumbs up nice people great food.

It might be my imagination, but quality might have gone down since the chain was purchased by http://www.roarkcapital.com/. It started out as a lettuce entertain you, Rich Melman concept that was taken national by Bringer (Owner of Chili's) . Roark Capital Group was named after Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's classic The Fountainhead. Perhaps this has something to do with it.

I agree with you Rick!