A Cook County judge ordered the owner of the long-closed Rainforest Cafe in Chicago to pay $11.5 million after defaulting on a loan.
Last year, Alecko Lending filed a lawsuit alleging Chicago real estate investor Sean Conlon failed to pay back an $8.3 million bridge loan on the River North property at 605 N. Clark St.
Cook County Circuit Judge Jerry Esrig ruled in favor of Alecko Lending on Tuesday and ordered Conlon to pay $11,508,950 plus legal fees.
Attorneys for Conlon and Alecko Lending did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the breach of contract lawsuit filed in October 2025, Alecko alleged Conlon failed to pay back the $8.3 million loan for the Rainforest Cafe, which closed in 2020.
In the initial complaint, Alecko said it’s owed $9.2 million, which includes interest and forbearance fees.
Alecko issued a short-term loan to Conlon in January 2024 with a Jan. 30, 2025, deadline to pay back the loan. The deadline was later extended to May 2025.
While Conlon missed the May deadline, he was offered a chance to pay some of the loan, $99,204.83, by July 10. But he never paid.
A separate, ongoing lawsuit Alecko filed last year seeks to foreclose on the restaurant property over the loan default.
Conlon, who hosted two seasons of CNBC’s real-estate show “The Deed: Chicago,” purchased the Rainforest Cafe site in 2015 for more than $13 million, according to property records.
A pot dispensary was in the works for the location, but plans were scrapped after the companies, Progressive Treatment Solutions and Bio-Pharm, faced lawsuits attempting to block the dispensary from opening.