Bulldog Ale House coming to former Rolling Meadows Chili's

The long-vacant Chili's Bar and Grill in Rolling Meadows will soon get new life as Bulldog Ale House plans to open in the Golf Road location.

The Chili's at 1480 Golf Road closed in September 2011, and the space has sat vacant ever since.

Bulldog Ale House is still in the early stages of the approval process with the city, said Rolling Meadows City Manager Barry Krumstok. The city granted the restaurant's request that it create an additional liquor license for it to seek, according to minutes from a city council meeting this month.

The owners still need to file permits for any possible changes to the property, said Krumstok, who described the discussions about bringing the restaurant to Rolling Meadows as very serious.

It was not immediately clear when the restaurant would open, and owners did not return calls for comment Monday.

Bulldog Ale House has restaurants in Roselle, Carol Stream, New Lenox, North Aurora and Bolingbrook. The eateries feature large TVs for sporting events and weekly specials including $1 burgers on Mondays and half price pizza on Wednesdays. The menu includes burgers, salads, sandwiches, wings, pizza and flatbreads, as well as more than 30 beers on tap.

The new restaurant is a spot of good news for Rolling Meadows, which has struggled to fill another large vacancy across town in the former Dominick's property along Kirchoff Road.

"It's taken longer than many other places to fill," Krumstok said of the former Chili's, which is a large stand-alone building in an outlot near Wal-Mart. "It would be great and hopefully this does end up filling that vacancy."