Capri in downtown Rockford for sale as owners look to comply with city’s vacant property rules

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app

ROCKFORD — The owners of Capri Restaurant have listed the downtown property for sale in an effort to comply with the city’s vacant property rules, which require a plan for reopening or selling the building.

Vito Grisanzio Jr., part of the family that has run the restaurant for more than six decades, said they still want to put the building at 313 E. State St. back into use one day. However, their attention is now on opening their new restaurant at 6480 E. Riverside Blvd. in Loves Park. Carryout service for that restaurant opened Sept. 28. A banquet hall and dining room are under construction now with plans to open by summer 2025.

“The city contacted us with a letter saying that we had to either sell the building or start a project,” Grisanzio Jr. said. “Because of the project out on Riverside we’re not in the position to start another project. … We have long-term plans for that space, but it doesn’t fit their timeline and they said it’s not in their best interest to have a vacant building on the main drag.”

More business news: Here’s when Starbucks is now looking to open in downtown Rockford

The city’s vacant and foreclosing property ordinance requires a plan of action with a time schedule for occupying the building or placing it for sale.

Grisanzio said the letter from the city was dated Nov. 5 and it had a 30-day deadline. The property was listed for sale by the end of November.

“We prefer to do our own project, but our hand was forced,” he said.

The building is listed for sale for $2.1 million.

“It could be high, but we hold it more valuable to us because we would like to do something down the road. So we’re not going to give it away,” Grisanzio said. “Based on what we’re seeing with our construction costs, if someone’s going to build a new building you’re going to easily pay that.”

Disagreements between the city and the restaurant owners over what upgrades were needed to meet building code and reopen the restaurant played a factor in the family’s decision to relocate to Loves Park. The family had initially hoped to reopen downtown, but the changes needed to meet code pushed construction costs too high.

The city had previously extended an offer to provide public support for rebuilding, including creating a new tax-increment finance district and providing a $700,000 federal block grant. Todd Cagnoni, city administrator, said they are committed to working with the family on a plan to redevelop the building.

He said the letter about the vacant property ordinance was sent to the owners following complaints sent to the city.

“We did receive a complaint, actually multiple complaints, related to the vacant building and the status of it, which resulted in a notification that went to the property owners related to the vacant property ordinance and different steps they could take to move toward compliance,” he said. “Obviously having a vacant building can be a detriment to the surrounding properties and is the reason why we have that in place, as well as to have a solid point of contact and a plan to move forward on a property.”

Violating the ordinance could result in fines. However, Cagnoni said the goal is to bring a property up to code and in to use without issuing fines.

“”The utilization of fines and penalties is a last-resort effort. We’d much rather work with individuals on a solution that works for them and the community,” he said.

For now, the building remains empty with the exception of some storage use. Utilities are on and the building is being heated.

The family hasn’t revealed a detailed plan for the property, but they’ve said on several occasions it could be used as a banquet or event venue space in the future.

The signs on the building were removed earlier this year in preparation for installation at the new restaurant in Loves Park.

Those signs are being refurbished by Smart Signs of Rockford ahead of installation at the Riverside Boulevard restaurant later this year.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas