Former Chilly Willy's owner to run new eatery at Rhodes Centre

Jody Wilson, who operated Chilly Willy's Sports Bar and Grill from 2011 to 2014 at John Rhodes Community Centre, is coming back to run a new restaurant in the same space.

City Council agreed tonight to accept Wilson's proposal for a new business to be known as Icebreakers Sports Bar and Grill.

Two companies responded to a request for proposals issued by city officials on June 28.

Wilson's proposal was determined to be superior by an evaluation committee comprised of Tom Vair (the city's deputy chief administrative officer for community development and enterprise services), Brent Lamming (director of community services), Rob Santa Maria (manager of arenas) and Tim Gowans (purchasing manager).

"Icebreakers will be supporting local businesses as much as possible," Lamming said in a memorandum to Mayor Christian Provenzano and city councillors.

"Mr. Wilson has experience in the hockey community and working with all the sporting events at the John Rhodes Community Centre. Mr. Wilson has plans for renovations for the space and will honour local hockey heroes and legends," Lamming said.

Jody Wilson will take over the Rhodes Centre restaurant space on Sept. 1.

Opening is expected in early September.

His agreement with the city will cover seven years with an option to renew for a further five years.

Wilson will pay the city $40,000 a year, compared to $26,212 plus a percentage of gross revenue paid by the previous, Sudbury-based operator, Sam Rezaiy's Centro Sports Bar and Restaurant.

That's expected to add up to a $9,000 annual reduction in revenue received by the city.

Rezaiy terminated Centro's lease and vacated the premises on May 5.

In its 2017 fiscal year, the city collected $23,147 as its cut of the eatery's gross revenue.

Property taxes paid to the city by the business owner totalled $16,928 that year.