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THE CHICAGO DOG
He came out of the night but into a bright sunny day in downtown Lake Geneva. He describes himself as “Chicago Bob,” although the Geneva Shore Report portrays him as Chicago Dog, after the famous hot dog served at Chicago Cubs and White Sox baseball games, the ‘everything’ on the hot dog, gaining the simple hot dog in a bun its signature and legendary status.
This Chicago Dog character, however, comes to all residents, visitors, workers, and even tourists in the summer season, without the ‘everything’ dressing. He comes with simply the bare weenie with a little comforting or covering bun. Somehow, Chicago Dog found out that the Town Bank, now being referred to as the ‘Townless Bank’ by locals, wanted to sell part of the huge parking lot that it owned, located between the new building the bank built with millions, and the location of Simple Restaurant (Lake Geneva’s most successful breakfast and lunch operation). Whatever the ‘Dog’ paid for, the parking lot that runs between the two locations, Simple and the bank, remains yet unknown.
That the sale was concluded in complete secrecy is a given, however, and all of us out here living in the community must give that pause for thought. Simple Restaurant, under the brilliant guidance of its owner, has developed itself into a Lake Geneva institution of some high quality and honor. Now, with the departure of those parking spaces, the new owner wants a fortune to rent out. Can Simple survive with only 29 parking spaces available to patrons up and down Broad Street? Tom, the owner, is not likely to enjoy or even really accept this eventuality.
Town Bank is not proving to be a good resident of Lake Geneva and the residents and depositors there should start giving that real serious consideration in doing business there The bank responded to Chicago Dog’s putting up construction fences around his new property (without a permit to do so, as is required) and then posted himself across from Chase Bank to collect cash from people wanting to use the parking spaces to go to Simple. The bank put up signs warning people that the remaining parking spaces not purchased by the dog are Town Bank customers’ spaces, and that others will be towed at their own expense if they use them to go to the restaurant.
What town is this “Town Bank” trying to say it is part of? Not the ‘town’ of Lake Geneva. First, this establishment (based in Heart, Wisconsin, of all places) refused to put back the USPS drive-in mailboxes they had removed over the past many years, and now they have pulled this parking-lot scam.
Chicago Dog will leave one day, likely soon, if the Geneva Shore Report has anything to say about it, but the bank will likely remain. One has to wonder how the bank will do as the residents figure out that the bank seems to have no heartfelt feeling for either its depositors or other customers located in Lake Geneva. After all, the wonderfully beautiful building they put in on Broad Street would serve a great purpose in becoming a new place for the VFW or even the American Legion should the bank choose to move on.
The Chicago Dog has to get a permit to charge people to park on his acquired parking lot, so the zoning department of the City of Lake Geneva has shut him down until he can secure a permit, a permit the GSR hopes he does not receive. The Chicago Dog…never forget that the weenie served in an open bun is still…a weenie.
