“Save Townies”: Petition Started to Save Rochester Restaurant

The future of the Soldiers Field Golf Course clubhouse has taken a new turn as Rochester residents and loyal customers step up to save Townies.

Following Friday's announcement that Townies will be closing its doors at Soldiers Field by the end of the year, a new Change.org petition is asking local leaders to halt plans to replace the restaurant and demanding full transparency from the city.

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The petition addressed to the Rochester Park Board, the Rochester City Council, the Mayor's office, and Mayor-elect Joe Powers comes right after Rochester Parks and Recreation recommended negotiating a new concession agreement with Uni Uni and Old Abe for the clubhouse space.

Supporters are quick to point out that this has nothing to do with those two businesses, but they believe Townies earned its spot and that the people who use Soldiers Field deserve a say in what happens next.

Townies also built that space. The deal was simple: the lease required Townies to put at least $35,500 of its own money into the city's building, and in exchange it paid lower rent. Townies ended up spending approximately $50,000. Townies held up its end, and the city got a renovated clubhouse it didn't have to pay for. Calling the rent "below market" without mentioning that investment leaves out half the deal.

Organizers are asking city officials to:

1. Pause the Decision: Hold off on approving the November 10 recommendation and delay signing any new agreement in December.
2. Renew Townies' Lease: Give Townies a fair lease that credits their $50,000 investment into the building.
3. Compare Proposals Publicly: Put both RFP bids in front of the board and the public so everyone can see them side by side.
4. Fix Building Maintenance: Make sure whoever runs the clubhouse has a landlord that takes care of basic repairs, like the kitchen A/C.

According to the petition, a renewal lease had already been drafted for Townies before issues boiled over in July, when repeated A/C failures pushed kitchen temps over 100 degrees and forced a temporary closure. After Townies spoke out publicly about unresolved maintenance, negotiations ended, and the city put the space out for bids.

Read the full petition.