Barrington Village Center adds Starbucks, AT&T and Shakou Sushi

Work on the Barrington Village Center commercial development in downtown Barrington is nearly complete, and soon businesses including Starbucks, AT&T and Shakou Sushi, an upscale Japanese restaurant, will be given their keys to begin interior work.

Peggy Blanchard, the village's economic developer director, said Tuesday that in the coming weeks village contractors will remove their equipment and put a fresh layer of pavement in the parking lot before handing the site over to businesses.

As the three buildings that make up the development have gone up at Main and Hough streets, so has the interest of businesses looking to rent space, she said.

"I just had a person today call and say 'Oh gosh, do they have a small space available?'" Blanchard said.

Bruce Reid, one of the developers on the project, said they are in fairly advanced discussions regarding every available tenant space, and further along in leasing spaces than expected.

"It was always our plan to let the project get finished so it looks better for prospective tenants," Reid said. "You have a theory about waiting a little, but then an interested tenant comes along and it is better to deal with reality than with esoteric theory."

At present there are two or three retail spaces that are still open, including the space in the building that Egg Harbor Cafe moved into last month.

"That is such a highly visible space," Reid said. "That has been sought after by two or three tenants."

Blanchard said the Starbucks located just over 200 feet away at the corner of Station and Hough streets will relocate to the Village Center. The new store will be double the size of their current location and feature outdoor seating, she said.

Shakou Sushi will occupy the west end of the same building. Shakou Sushi opened its first location in Libertyville in March 2013, and is in the process of opening a St. Charles location. Reid said the restaurant, which will be the only two-story business in the development, will have rooftop dining which is hard to find in the suburbs.

Blanchard said the village has received two permits for the development an AT&T store and a business called 18/8 Fine Men's Salon. The village also is in talks with a restaurant that will be at the corner of Station and Hough streets.

Blanchard said she has enjoyed hearing residents offering unsolicited compliments on the new development.

"People were commenting about how the project completes the town and that it kind of just fits," Blanchard said. "It's not overbearing, it's the right scale for the town and I think we're all really pleased with how it turned out."

A grand opening celebration for the development is in the works for sometime in the late summer, after all of the businesses are moved in.