RIVER NORTH — Cook County Sheriff's police descended on the Green Door Tavern Friday morning due to what one official on the scene said was a legal dispute between the bar and some investors.
Sheriff's officers were removing items from the bar at 678 N. Orleans Ave. — including bags of cheese curds. By about 11 a.m. the bar posted a $60,000 bond and the sheriff's officers returned the property seized via replevin, or a legal maneuver to repossess property, according to an officer on the scene and a spokesman in the sheriff's office.
Green Door staff — including a manager — at the bar Friday morning declined to comment.
The bar bills itself as "Chicago's oldest tavern," and the building pre-dates the Great Chicago Fire.
Among items seized / bonded back: cheese curds pic.twitter.com/UgfSZOTqJy
— David Lee Matthews (@DavidLMatthews) December 18, 2015Cook County property records show a local bank filed a $2.1 million foreclosure suit against the bar last year before selling the allegedly soured loan to a group of investors who are now seeking the property. Court records show that investor group is led by David Mitidiero of Chicago-based real estate firm CR Realty Advisors LLC, which sued in August to foreclose the mortgage it now controls.
The company that owns the Green Door Tavern has since sued back, and records show both cases are still pending.
Mitidiero did not return a message seeking comment, and Chicago lawyer Thomas D. Carroll, who represents the Green Door Tavern in the lawsuits, declined to comment.
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