Park Forest, ill. -The owner of a popular barbecue -Joint said that he could close his Park Forest location after he reportedly suffered injury in a fight with the mayor of the suburb.
Antiwone Hardy is the owner of all-out Smoke Pit, a Park Forest Barbecue restaurant that is known for its ribs, chest and more. He has built a loyal supporter, but now says he weighs or he has to close.
“We don't know if we want to stay or leave,” he said. “I feel uncomfortable with the village. We feel very uncomfortable to be here. '
That feeling followed a fight with Mayor Joe Woods last August.
Hardy claims what the fight has fueled, was the mayor who called Hardy's teenage daughter an expletive, after she reportedly refused to shake the mayor's hand.
During an interview with the police, Woods denied the claim. The mayor also refused the interview requests from WGN.
But according to reports and video, obtained by WGN, from the Sheriff's Office of Cook County, the mayor said that Hardy's wife was upset about the alleged remark about her daughter, “pushed him and hit him with her body.”
The fight took place outside the total smoke well. And at one point the mayor said that Hardy came out with a 'machete'.
“I was in shock at the time,” Woods told the police. “I have something like that, are you trying to cut me?”
Hardy told the police that he put down the knife and not used it against Woods.
But that did not make the situation harmless.
“He pushed me into the truck and came behind the slider and put his weight on me,” Hardy told the police.
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During the fight, Hardy said he was damaged three lower teeth, which had to be extracted later. He asked the village to cover his medical costs.
There is no word about whether that will happen, or whether Hardy will follow his threat to close his restaurant.
During a recent board meeting, Woods said in a public statement that he did not want the restaurant to leave.
“If Park Forest loses a company – that's not good,” he said. “But good things are also happening [in the village]. “
The police of Cook County Sheriff recently concluded their investigation into the fight, after both Hardy and Woods agreed to submit no criminal complaints.
News about the fight was first reported in the South Suburban News.
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