01-06-2010, 02:45 AM
Hi Dennis.
Welcome and thank you for asking for advice. I'll be 100% honest with you. For various reasons, which I will not take the time to specify, your proposed venture would not be a good fit for Waukegan at this point in time and would surely fail if it were implemented. As you probably know, Waukegan is currently struggling and has had better days. Again, not enough time here to explain the specifics as to why it is struggling. This does not mean Waukegan does not have potential to be a great city. All potential for a vibrant Waukegan lies in the proper exploitation of the far Eastern area known as "The Lakefront". The key to this "proper exploitation" lies in a firm understanding of the current and past relationship, perception and image Waukegan has with the surrounding communities. Currently there are a lot of people in this area who hesitate to come to Waukegan for any reason. The reason for this is because Waukegan is an "urban" community and for many of those sometimes xenophobic people the concept of "urban" carries a negative connotation which equates to minorities and lower income strata and the problems associated with them. Waukegan always has been the urban center of Lake County and this will not change anytime soon. So what can we do to overcome this problem? In my opinion there is an answer. The crux is to try to attract middle class people who do not have a negative perception of anything "urban". With the proper knowledge and approach that should not be a problem because such people do exist in quantity in most large cities such as Chicago and Milwaukee, both which happen to be less than 50 miles each from Waukegan with Chicago being accessible via excellent rail transportation. So, the answer is simply to do whatever it takes to attract such people. Simply analyze what would be attractive to such a demographic and then implement and promote the resulting findings. The point is that there is a positive side to urban-ness and Waukegan needs to fully exploit, in the most positive way possible, the fact that it is the only urban community in Lake County. The Lakefront area has a lot of room for new residential units but residential will not materialize until there is something attractive in the area. Thus the city should subsidize certain "urban attitude" pioneering enterprises.
So Dennis, Forget about opening a Dutch diner and open a modern vaudeville type jazz burlesque club. The type that has fire eater jugglers, bawdy, edgy, eccentric entertainers, weirdoes, etc. If the only other places to find such an enterprise were Chicago, or Milwaukee or Detroit or New York then it would be a perfect fit.
Welcome and thank you for asking for advice. I'll be 100% honest with you. For various reasons, which I will not take the time to specify, your proposed venture would not be a good fit for Waukegan at this point in time and would surely fail if it were implemented. As you probably know, Waukegan is currently struggling and has had better days. Again, not enough time here to explain the specifics as to why it is struggling. This does not mean Waukegan does not have potential to be a great city. All potential for a vibrant Waukegan lies in the proper exploitation of the far Eastern area known as "The Lakefront". The key to this "proper exploitation" lies in a firm understanding of the current and past relationship, perception and image Waukegan has with the surrounding communities. Currently there are a lot of people in this area who hesitate to come to Waukegan for any reason. The reason for this is because Waukegan is an "urban" community and for many of those sometimes xenophobic people the concept of "urban" carries a negative connotation which equates to minorities and lower income strata and the problems associated with them. Waukegan always has been the urban center of Lake County and this will not change anytime soon. So what can we do to overcome this problem? In my opinion there is an answer. The crux is to try to attract middle class people who do not have a negative perception of anything "urban". With the proper knowledge and approach that should not be a problem because such people do exist in quantity in most large cities such as Chicago and Milwaukee, both which happen to be less than 50 miles each from Waukegan with Chicago being accessible via excellent rail transportation. So, the answer is simply to do whatever it takes to attract such people. Simply analyze what would be attractive to such a demographic and then implement and promote the resulting findings. The point is that there is a positive side to urban-ness and Waukegan needs to fully exploit, in the most positive way possible, the fact that it is the only urban community in Lake County. The Lakefront area has a lot of room for new residential units but residential will not materialize until there is something attractive in the area. Thus the city should subsidize certain "urban attitude" pioneering enterprises.
So Dennis, Forget about opening a Dutch diner and open a modern vaudeville type jazz burlesque club. The type that has fire eater jugglers, bawdy, edgy, eccentric entertainers, weirdoes, etc. If the only other places to find such an enterprise were Chicago, or Milwaukee or Detroit or New York then it would be a perfect fit.