Catching up with Charles Walsh Jr.
By Dee Longfellow
for The Elmhurst Independent
When the Independent published a story about Livia, the new restaurant in town, it was learned Elmhurst’s own Charles Walsh Jr. was one of the business’s silent partners. It seemed like a good reason to catch up with Walsh and see what development endeavors he has been involved with of late.
“I am a silent partner [at Livia],” Walsh told the Independent in an exclusive interview. “I have nothing to do with day-to-day operations, however, as a team player and as someone who wants to be involved with a successful operation, I wanted to contribute. I took it on to assist with the marketing, make sales calls to generate interest in catering and the private dining room. While I’m involved minimally, ‘help’ is the key word – I worked to help us all be successful.”
He said one of his partners, Brian, often uses the word “culture.”
“I think what he means is creating an experience that draws you to return more and more, again and again,” he said. “The experience draws you back on multiple occasions. You can see people coming in to see what’s going on. That’s where we want to be.”
From a real estate point of view, Walsh shared his feelings about downtown Elmhurst and all the current development in that area.
“I like to see new things and that doesn’t mean that we should knock everything down,” he said. “It’s nice to see people fixing up their buildings and building new ones, it’s a great benefit for everybody. I wish I could be involved in all of those projects.” This could potentially mean that he is considering taking part in new projects that might happen in the downtown area. Having some experience he might know about some services similar to senior living consultants or building inspectors to potentially help with any projects that might occur in the downtown area in the future.
Walsh talked about his background, having grown up in Elmhurst, attending grade school and high school here, he even went to Elmhurst College.
“I’m absolutely ridiculously passionate about Elmhurst,” he said. “New development, new construction is a good thing, for all those who have a vested interest in downtown as well as the whole community.”
Venturing into Addison
Eight years ago, Walsh was busy with a development on the northwest corner of Lake & Mill Rd. in Addison.
“We built a Chase Bank branch, and next to it, a 4000 square-foot retail building,” he said. “As with Elmhurst, I developed an excellent relationship with the Village, the staff, and the Mayor’s office. I was able to take two empty, deteriorating buildings that were an eyesore and turn them into beautiful re-use of the property.
“Redevelopment is definitely a good thing and that’s what I did in Addison. There’s always a benefit to redevelopment.” As long as the redevelopment process is done in the best possible way for the area with the right professionals at the helm from electricians to power washing services, each one has a part to play when redevelopment happens.
In Addison, Walsh built the property where the Chase Bank is now located.
“That Chase [location] is the #1 Chase Bank in its region, based on traffic and transaction volume,” he said. “One of the other tenants in the location, T-Mobile, is actually a training location and it has also been #1 in the country for sales volume at one time for the company.”
In addition to the T-Mobile, having had a vacancy in that property for five years, Walsh had a friend urging him to open a video-gaming café as eSports games are growing to be one of the major industries where you could make a good amount of profit.
“I thought applying for a gaming license would be tougher than a liquor license,” he said, “but once you get the liquor license, then the gaming is ‘easy.’ With my friend, who owned another video gaming location, encouraging me to do it, I thought, I have a five-year vacancy, so why not try it?
“Now, we’ve been open coming up on two years and we are the #2 location in Addison in volume, which I’m very proud of.
“But I’m not #1.”
The Village of Addison staff and the mayor were great to work with, not only for a real estate developer, but also for a business owner, according to Walsh.
Addison grows to two locations
With things going so well in Addison, it was no surprise that after about a year, Walsh’s partner suggested they open a second location.
“When my partner suggested we get another liquor license for a second location, we went through the process and, because Addison is great to work with, we now have two locations known as Lacey’s Place, one at 610 W. Lake, another at 1590 W. Lake,” he said.
All in the family…
“I guess it helps if you’re an honest and trustworthy businessman with a good reputation,” he said. “Though my dad’s earlier involvement in Elmhurst certainly helps.”
Walsh offers a reminder that he and his father, Chuck, rebuilt Elmhurst City Hall in the 1992. He added that he’s been talking with his daughter about her career plans.
“I’ve encouraged Gabrielle to follow in my footsteps, because, as I told her, you create your own destiny.”
More about the job of a business owner/developer
The favorite part of his job?
“I absolutely love what I do,” he said. “It’s the old cliché, if you don’t love what you do, you’re not going to be happy. Nothing [I do] feels like work. I’m a business owner, I’m not a 9 to 5 guy. Sometimes I go in seven days a week, a few hours on the weekend, just to keep things moving forward. I stay involved.”
For better or worse, in good times and bad
Asked about the favorite part of his job, he is quick to reply as other successful people have.
“No two days are the same – I’m not stuck behind a desk eight hours at a time, kick the dirt, enjoy a beautiful day, interacting with people, shoveling snow, working with tenants, contracts or city officials,” he said. “I love it all.”
What about the difficulties in his job?
“Not every property is a home run. I have one property that has been a challenge because I bought it at the beginning of the great recession,” he said. “So that’s still hanging. Not everything is guaranteed.
“You’ve got to do your due diligence, but even when you do all your homework, you can still run into a problem or a challenge based on circumstances beyond your control.”
His plans for the immediate future?
“I’m always working on something here in town and I have also partnered with another real estate developer, who is presently working on a development proposal in Maywood. We’re about to break ground on a project in Streator, Illinois, as well.
“I hope to be redeveloping a property here in town,” he said. “It’s been 20 years since I built something in Elmhurst, so it’s time, and I am ready.”
