Business owner adds Strawberry Field to restaurant menu
Gus Romas was 15 when he immigrated from Greece and jokes that he arrived to Chicago on a Friday night and that on Monday morning he was picking up dishes and cleaning tables at a restaurant that his family owned.
He never looked back and has been in the restaurant business ever since. Romas' father, a retired chef, owned restaurants over the years and helped teach Gus the trade. "Restaurants are in our DNA," the younger Romas said.
Strawberry Field Pancakes & Cafe, at 410 Milwaukee Ave. in Lincolnshire, is the latest restaurant on Romas' menu. The Vernon Hills resident, with the help of his father and brother, launched the breakfast and lunch establishment at the end of May.
"We wanted to bring our restaurant experience to Lincolnshire," said Romas, 56, of the eatery that features everything made from scratch and a Greek touch and menu options, including Greek coffee.
Highlights include build-your-own salads, burgers, skillets and omelets at the restaurant that seats 110 people inside and 40 people outside. "Every plate comes with a fresh strawberry," Romas added.
In coming up with the name, the entrepreneur wanted something different, that customers would remember. The Beatles favorite played a role, as well as the strawberry's link to "natural" and fresh, Romas said. "We wanted to have fun with the name."
The Lake County restaurant is the third for Romas, who opened Bo-Bo's Gyro, a diner and ice cream shop with a '50s theme, in 1988 in Palatine and then expanded to Vernon Hills in 1994.
He then bought the Canteen Restaurant, a breakfast establishment in Barrington, nearly 16 years ago.
At a time when restaurants come and go, what's Romas' secret to success?
"Very hard work," he said, adding that "you have to think of tomorrow instead of yesterday and follow what your customers want."
He says he tries to think outside the box.
If he had to give a tip to someone just opening a restaurant, he would say, "the hours are long. You better be ready to commit yourself. This is not a short-term venture."
Industrial movement
Transwestern, with offices in Rosemont and Chicago, brokered six industrial transactions totaling 225,750 square feet in the western suburbs. The deals include four leases and two sales and range in size from 26,000 to 58,000 square feet.
"The Chicago-area industrial market is exceptionally tight right now for small- and mid-sized users requiring anywhere from 20,000 to 200,000 square feet," said Transwestern Senior Director Joe Karmin. The lease transactions include the following properties: Century Tile leased 58,000 square feet at 280 Madsen Drive in Bloomingdale; Yingliu Casting leased 37,750 square feet at 901 N. DuPage Ave. in Lombard; Swanson Flo-Systems leased 28,000 square feet at 775 Belden Ave. in Addison; Leggett & Platt subleased 26,000 square feet at 501 Airport Road in North Aurora.
Transwestern also brokered the following sale transactions: Packsmart Inc. acquired 1000 Atlantic Drive in West Chicago; a private investor acquired 707 Kautz Road in St. Charles.
From Rockford to Elgin
Pancor Construction & Development announced the relocation of FMA Headquarters (Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International) from its Rockford location to Randall Point Executive Center on the northeast corner of Randall Road and 1-90 in Elgin. Pancor was chosen as the builder of this new 26,750 square foot, glass and pre-cast building.
FMA is a professional organization with more than 1,400 individual and company members working together to improve the metal forming and fabrication industry. FMA brings metal fabricators and manufacturers together through technology councils and educational programs, networking events. Pancor Construction & Development plans on completing FMA's new home by December 2016.
Frito Lay sale
CBRE, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, assisted Frito Lay in the sale of 13.9 acres at 800 Northgate Parkway in Wheeling to Hamilton Partners. The Itasca-based developer plans a 134,593-square-foot industrial facility at the site.
Ryan Bain, senior vice president, and Zachary Graham, first vice president, represented Frito Lay in the sale, and have been retained by Hamilton Partners to represent the spec industrial project.
"This is an excellent location in a dense industrial submarket with a 2.6 percent vacancy rate" Bain said.
"The industrial base in this area consists primarily of 30-40 year old product. The highly efficient, state-of-the-art spec facility will be well received by occupiers in the North Chicago suburbs."