Breakfast chain to open in Carpentersville

As part of its expansion into the Northwest suburbs, a breakfast and lunch restaurant chain is expected to open a Carpentersville location this summer.

Southern Belles Pancake House plans to renovate and move into a vacant building at 152 S. Western Ave., which was previously home to a Chinese buffet, said Patrick Burke, the village's economic development director.

“A sit-down breakfast and lunch option, I think, will do really well there,” he said. “Looking at other Southern Belles (locations), it seems like it's a very high-quality operation they have.”

The first Southern Belles Pancake House opened in Bedford Park 18 years ago, after which locations popped up in Plainfield and Yorkville, part-owner Frank Georgacopoulos said.

In March, the company opened a Barrington site, where it launched a new concept featuring a healthier and more contemporary menu, while also serving traditional, Southern-style meals.

“We're in expansion mode right now,” Georgacopoulos said, noting the company is searching for other places to develop a similar idea. “(Barrington) was our first venture to the Northwest suburbs, and Carpentersville is just a hop, skip and jump away.”

The 6,000-square-foot Carpentersville building is in the initial stages of a makeover, which is expected to create a Southern atmosphere, Georgacopoulos said. The restaurant will include a banquet room that can be reserved for private events, as well as a coffee and juice bar, which serves specialty drinks and smoothies.

The facade is also getting a facelift to make it more visible from Route 31, Burke said. Georgacopoulos said he also expects the location's proximity to Spring Hill Mall to bring in a lot of traffic.

If all goes well with renovations, he said, the Carpentersville location is expected to open by early August. The restaurant would be open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

“As we searched the area, we found no other real breakfast options similar to what our capabilities are,” Georgacopoulos said. “We saw an opportunity to provide that Southern hospitality that we're known for.”