Survey: 87% Support the Reopening of Kelly’s Restaurant and Card Room

A September survey of Antioch residents found overwhelming support for the reopening of Kelly’s Restaurant and Card Room.

With the Antioch City Council set to take up the item in the near future on a final decision, the City Council has been receiving out of town pressure from folks trying to kill the reopening of the business for their own personal gain. We highlighted on September 4 how out-of-town special interests were working to build opposition after the Planning Commission approved in a 5-1 vote to move forward with the project.

Using simple logic, the project as proposed will bring additional revenue to Antioch, more jobs, and 24-hour security to the local neighborhood as opposed to an empty building collecting cobwebs.

Here is a look at the polling:

Have you or a family member ever visited Kelly’s Restaurant and Card Room in Downtown Antioch?

• Yes: 44.1%
• No: 50.8%
• Do not know: 5.1%

Recently, the historic Kelly’s has fallen into disrepair due to the health of its owner and has become a magnet for homeless, squatters, and neighborhood crime. A local businessman and property owner would like to remodel Kelly’s. add professional security at the facility and reopen it as a fine dining establishment for all of Antioch to enjoy. Do you support or oppose this idea?

• Yes, I support: 87.8%
• No, I oppose: 5.6%
• I don’t know: 6.7%

Recently, the Antioch Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 in favor of issuing a Use Permit to the landmark Kelly’s Restaurant and Card Room. At the Planning Commission, it was seating room only in the Chambers which was filled with Antioch residents who support the reopening of Kelly’s for the revitalization it will bring to our Downtown, for the 50 new jobs it will create and for the neighborhood security it will offer to deter homeless and criminal activity for the neighborhood.  Do you agree with Antioch residents’ reasons for supporting the reopening of Kelly’s?

• Yes, I agree: 88.2%
• No, I don’t agree: 6.2%
• I don’t know: 5.6%

Out of town casinos, like the California Grand Casino in Pacheco, are spending thousands of dollars to convince the Antioch City Council to oppose the reopening of the historic Kelly’s and its maximum six card tables. These special interest anonymously hide behind a group they created called “Protect Antioch,” but they are not from Antioch and their real goal is to squash business competition in Antioch. They did this successfully in Richmond in 2010 by spending almost a half a million dollars and they are attempting to do the same thing now in Antioch. Do these out-of-town Casino’s schemes concern you at all?

• Yes, these schemes concern me: 80%
• No, I’m not concerned: 12.8%
• I don’t know: 7.2%

These same out-of-town Casino interests are trying to convince our City leaders that reopening the historic Kelly’s in Downtown Antioch will increase crime. Residents who live in the neighborhood, along with the Rivertown Preservation Society, support the renovation and reopening of Kelly’s because it will bring business, activity and dusk to dawn professional security to the area, which they believe will lower crime in the neighborhood. Who do you most likely believe?

• I believe the Antioch residents who live in the neighborhood: 81.7%
• I believe the casino interest: 3.9%
• I don’t know who to believe: 14.4%

The out-of-town Casino have conducted a poll of Antioch voters and are showing this poll to City leaders trying to scare them into opposing the reopening of Kelly’s. The Casino say that any candidate who votes to reopen Kelly’s will be defeated in the next election. Which statements best reflects your views on this subject?

• The casino interest aren’t from Antioch and don’t own my vote: 48%
• I will vote for the candidates I choose based on a number of issues important to me: 56.4%
• I don’t believe in polls: 5.6%
• Antioch needs new jobs—tell the City Council I support reopening Kelly’s: 54.2%
• I agree with the casino’s and will vote against any candidate who supports Kelly’s: 2.2%
• I don’t have any views on the subject: 1.7%

*Note, survey takers could check more than one category on this question.

Do you support or oppose the reopening of historic Kelly’s in the Downtown?

• I support it: 86.6%
• I oppose it: 5.6%
• I don’t know:7.8%

For those looking to find more information on Kelly’s Card Room, visit their Facebook Page.