Home Seller Offers To Pick Up Buyer's Bar Tab
GLENVIEW (CBS) -- Lots of food and drink may seal an atypical deal on a north suburban Glenview home.
And parties involved have never heard of a similar trade.
Local restaurant and tavern Grandpa's Place will give $1,000 worth of menu items to the buyer of a brick, three-bedroom townhouse across the street at 1877 Prairie St.
Homeowner Melanie Gravdal, suggested the idea to Realtor Missy Jerfita around Labor Day.
"We had two to three showings when we first had the house on sale in June, but now there's about nine. That's a 300 percent increase, but we don't know if it's related," said Gravdal, who moved to Glenview from Los Angeles in 2006 with husband Brian.
"I was getting frustrated in selling our home, so I told Missy we needed something to set us apart from the crazy number of town\homes in the area. In a joking way, I thought, 'Someone could walk home from Grandpa's after a night out,'" she said.
At Grandpa's, fliers advertising the $1,000 comp were posted all over the bar area.,
"It's been a topic of conversation. To me, it's a very unique, creative idea and out of the ordinary. I've never heard of doing this," said Mike Maginot, general manager at Grandpa's for 11 years.
"I guess it's a sign of the times — anything to make something move," he said.
Grandpa's Place was built in 1898 and part of it was always a bar, said Maginot.
"Some of our customers thought when you broke it down, $1,000 wouldn't go so far, but these were people who may spend $50 a day here," said bartender Marcia Grab, a Chicago resident.
"But taking a family of four to Grandpa's twice a month for dinner would be worth it," she added.
Jerfita, of Koenig & Strey RealLiving, said when agents scheduled open house sales, they may have small gifts or raffles on hand to attract other agents and brokers.
"But you wouldn't do this for buyers, not usually. We think the Grandpa's thing could work because there's a real benefit to it.
"With the $1,000 credit, you could hang around having a burger and a drink and live across the street," Jerfita said.
Gravdal explained the short walking distance to restaurants, the new public library, parks and the Metra commuter station were reasons why they moved to downtown in southeast Glenview.
With a growing family, she and her husband needed a bigger house and have decided to return to Los Angeles.
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