The Detroit times., 1909-12-10

Better Than Competitive Bids and
Taking Chance on Service, Says
Aid. Freiwald.

As 4 result OF the difference Ot Opln-
ION over the rental o. he Belle Isle
casino and the majority and minority
reports of the park committee now
awaiting consideration bV the common
council II is possible that he park
commissioner may be requested to
take over The casino and run it here
after. instead al leasing the privilege.
Rather than have competitive bids
asked for the casino privilege and
have to Take "a chance on service, /
would prefer 60 have the CRY operate
the casino direct, says Chairman God
fey Freiwald OF the parks and boulc-
wards committee
TO my mind, TN ccasino is on Belle
Isle primarily as an attraction auG u
convenience 10 the people We want
the host kind 0f service So that the
people who want a fine meal can get
ii without coming back to the city.
and also So that visitors go the city
can get The best impression OF our
park We also want popularpriced
service for the people who cannot al
ford 10 pay for the best
Il DO not want To see the casino
turned into mere lunch counter. nor
10 went to see it run as an exclusive
cafe. We must have all kinds Of ser
VICE. and that means that the c,lace
cannot be run as economically as a
downtown restaurant which caters to
only one kind of trade and does good
business all the year around
Neither is profit the main object
We get no profit from our Belle Isle
bridge, no profit from our aquarium or
horticultural building or athletic fields
on Belle l,lc. Set the casino Is an at
traction and an accommodation Just
as much as amy of these II We exact
high rental. the public must pay it
eventually The lessee is not going TO
donate H. II strikes me as better policy
10 keep the rent at reasonable figure
and also the prices.
II understand that the running OF
restaurant in parks by the municipal
ity is already in effect ip some cities.
II We were 10 institute that system
here. i believe that K0ueu the present
lessee would BE- a. good a man rs We
could get But whether We give him
another lease or have the city take
over the restaurant. a close supervision
will be kept over the running oi the
casino If profits become too great,
We can arrange for price changes. II
the place runs al a loss. We can make
some changes that will remedy the
condition
ANY comparison OF The old casino
with the new casino is unfair The
old casino was dirty and poorly kept
up. It's menu was limited. It's cooking
-attlF- fail-aud- the AeENlceLGaS- L.
bad as II could be The new casino
I IA kept IN excellent condition when
costs the lessee n large sum annually.
and the food and service are good. VI
f. on the way To become one OF The
greatest attractions of the city. both
TO residents and to visitors We can
not afford To take a backward step.
The new schedule Of prices nv which
= man can set a meal OF warm food
from - cents mp is a step that will
become popular. We may go farther
i'm that direction later.
Il Is very probable that Aid. Frei
valid will move next Tuesday night 90
have both majority and minority re-
ports with regard 90 the casino re-
ferred hack To the committee I'm that
case. Lessee William konen will he
called anon 10 show his hooks 90 the
council So that the aldermen can learn
where pc has made money and where
hc\ hrs lost.
The receipts of the casino the past
season were approximately S10.0O0 OF
this about hair was for the restaurant
proper AID the other half Tor soda
fnuntaiu. boar aud Wines and candy
These batter goods are generally sold
M hig profit arid some Of the alder.
men are curious as 20 how k0nen
could have had such expenses as ia
cut down these profits to a paltry
$4,000 oven # tho restaurant end ui
the business was run without any
! nroft al az