COLUMBIA, Ill. – A man in Columbia, Illinois, said his dreams of opening his restaurant are shot after the requirements put forth by the city were so unclear.
Bryan Scott, who owns a restaurant called The Truck Stop Columbia, said the process of “opening and starting a business in Columbia is broken.”
“I have to vacate the premises in 10 days. So yeah, the dream of The Truck Stop is definitely dead and gone,” Scott said.
For the past nine years, Scott said he dreamed of opening a restaurant, particularly on Main Street.
He said that after eight months of starting the process, it was only last Friday that he received written, step-by-step information to get the place open.
“With other municipalities, in talking to them, they seem to have guidelines to help you get from step to step and keep the process moving,” Scott said. “Unfortunately, that just doesn’t exist here in Columbia at the moment.”
At the City Council meeting, Mayor Bob Hill expressed his remorse for what Scott had to go through and said they are working together to help him.
“As a small business owner myself, I know the challenges individuals face,” Hill said. “It is not the intentions nor should it be the practice of the city to make it even harder.”
Hill said that he encourages anyone with concerns to let their elected officials know.
“We’re not able to make any changes or address any issues to improve our level of service if we do not know about them,” he said.
“I appreciate Bob Hill for reaching out to me and setting up a meeting for this morning ahead of this council meeting,” Scott said. “That means a lot to me, I think that says a lot about him.”
Scott said the next steps for him are to find a new location to reopen his business.