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Lounge, sports bar planned for long-vacant Schaumburg building

New state-of-the-art office developments along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway in Schaumburg are breathing fresh life into a long-vacant restaurant building on nearby Algonquin Road.

Ivan Zagorov, president of 787 Escape Inc., hopes to transform the former Zed Sabor do Brasil steakhouse at 801 E. Algonquin Road into the Escape Lounge & Sports Bar by the end of July.

The proposal for the approximately 9,000-square-foot site already has won the recommendation of village planners and will seek the endorsement of the zoning board of appeals at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10.

Schaumburg Community Planner Marisa Warneke said the plans call for virtually no changes to the outside of the building and only a few to the interior. Chief among these is the replacement of the last restaurant's salad bar with a new bar for liquor sales.

Zagorov said the new business is seeking lunch and dinner business - hoping to cater to workers at nearby offices - and will not be a nightclub. Construction is well under way nearby for the new corporate headquarters of Sunstar Americas Inc. and Zurich North America.

Nevertheless, there are potential plans to have singers and DJs perform occasionally at the restaurant. Permission for that will have to come from an entertainment license that Zagorov will apply for separately, Warneke said.

There also is potential for an outdoor patio being built in the future, but that isn't part of the current proposal, she added.

The planned menu for the restaurant includes pizza, burgers, salads, sushi and appetizers. Meals are generally expected to cost about $15 to $17 and served in an expedient manner for people on lunch breaks, Zagorov said.

Meat will be grilled using wood and charcoal, with the former Brazilian steakhouse having left most of the equipment the new business will need, he added.

Because the last tenant of the building also was a sit-down restaurant, its special-use permit could have carried over to Escape Lounge & Sports Bar if the transition had occurred within six months. But with the long vacancy of more than four years, a new permit must be obtained, Warneke said.

If the restaurant gets a zoning board recommendation this week, the village board most likely would vote on final approval at its meeting Tuesday, June 23.

  Escape Lounge & Sports Bar plans open next month in restaurant space at 801 E. Algonquin Road in Schaumburg most recently occupied by Zed Sabor do Brasil steakhouse. The building has been vacant for more than four years. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  A Schaumburg zoning panel on Wednesday will consider a plan to open the proposed Escape Lounge & Sports Bar in the restaurant space most recently occupied by Zed Sabor do Brasil steakhouse. The building at 801 E. Algonquin Road has sat vacant for more than four years. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
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