Lakemoor steps on the gas to attract business

Down time is a relative term at the new Thorntons gas station and convenience store at Darrell Road and Route 120 in Lakemoor.

“We have been busy from 3 o'clock in the morning until 11 o'clock at night,“ general manager Jeffrey Bates said on a recent morning amid the nonstop flow of commerce.

Since opening Sept. 21, there have been few lags, which is good news for the Louisville-based company and the village, which is trying to position itself as a place to be for business.

A small but sprawling community of about 5,800, Lakemoor's image is not enhanced by its village hall a former fire station, prominently located on Route 120, that for a time also served as the village garage and repair shop.

“This town has been overlooked for years,” contended Village President Todd Weihofen, who took office last year with a mission to lure business. “Lakemoor has been asleep for a long time.”

So Thorntons, which in many communities would simply be a nice addition, reaches another level for Lakemoor.

“This couldn't happen at a better time. We've seen our sales tax revenue decrease tremendously over the last three years,” Village Administrator David Alarcon explained.

Customers definitely have noticed the new arrival and often ask Bates what took so long for a business of this type to fill the gap along a busy state route.

Even at 10:20 a.m. on a nondescript weekday, when one would think commuters already were at work, 12 of the 14 gas pumps are occupied.

A 20-ounce free coffee has been one of several opening month promotions to lure customers. It doesn't sit long.

“At least 90 gallons a day. That's a conservative number,” Bates estimated, and that doesn't include cappuccino. “People have been good to us.”

Round Lake resident Joe Scarnato, who recently stopped on his way to Buddyz, a restaurant he owns in McHenry, explained why.

“It's convenient, it has good gas prices and whatever I need to get simple things,” he said. For Lakemoor, “it's definitely a big deal,” he added.

Thorntons opens four to eight stores a year, with Chicago and Louisville areas its key markets, said John Zikias, vice president of sales and marketing.

Why Lakemoor?

“We don't really talk much about how we select real estate,” Zikias said. “That's one of our secrets.”

What is known is an average of 22,000 vehicles pass the intersection each day. And because it is in Lake County just barely there is no added county gas tax. McHenry County adds 4 cents per gallon, the most allowed by state statute.

Real estate broker Sean Ryan, who sold the property to Thorntons, said it took 10 years to assemble several parcels, which included an old abandoned gas station and some homes, into a single usable area.

But another key was the village's willingness to offer a sales tax incentive to offset construction costs. The site was considered “challenging” to develop because of wetland issues, Alarcon said.

The agreement caps the rebate at $300,000 over 12 years. Lakemoor will receive the first $25,000 in sales tax in a given year, and the rest will be split with Thorntons.

“It's not that much and it's a long-term commitment these people have made in the village,” he said.

Alarcon said the village expects to receive about $119,000 each year in sales tax from the new station.

Like other communities, Lakemoor is hurting and has cut village staff. The community now has 22 employees, including six who are part-time.

Sales tax revenue fell from about $576,000 in 2007-08 to about $324,000 in 2009-10 a 44 percent drop. That's a big hit to an operating budget of about $3 million.

But village leaders hope to see a reversal.

Lakemoor is in two counties and four townships, including the corners at the even busier intersection of routes 120 and 12.

Potential in the open areas has been hampered by the economy, but the village is preparing by pursuing grants to update its comprehensive plan and zoning code.

“We're really trying to prepare for when the economy comes around,” Alarcon said.

Though most are small, Lakemoor has a diversified base with 246 businesses. A “shop local” campaign is under way, and the establishment of a chamber of commerce could be next.

Aside from Thorntons, there is other encouraging news on the business front.

Walgreens plans to build across Darrell Road from Thorntons in 2013, a timetable the village would like to accelerate.

An idled sand and gravel pit recently went back into production with a new operator. Though not glamorous, the pit will provide royalties to the village, Alarcon said.

And at the Fritzche Industrial Park on Wegner Road, business owner Doug Doretti is renovating and updating a 40,000-square-foot warehouse.

“For us, it's a very positive symbol in this bad economic time there's still development here,” Alarcon said.