Lisle leaders: New restaurant fits Ogden Avenue upgrade plan

Lisle leaders today will welcome a new restaurant to fill a prominent spot on Ogden Avenue, a stretch of the village they say is targeted for a long-term revamp.

Tairyo Japanese Steakhouse will fill the giant red and green pagoda that has sat vacant for about a year at 3099 Ogden, just east of Naperville Road.

The restaurant was originally home to the Grand Mandarin Chinese restaurant, which closed about three years ago, and the short-lived Landee restaurant.

Village President Joseph Broda said he hopes Tairyo, which will hold a grand opening at 11:30 a.m., will bring strong business to a street that Lisle hopes to redevelop over several years.

“When Grand Mandarin opened, it was booming, with lots of diners and karaoke, and we hope to see something like that again,” Broda said, noting that Grand Mandarin's former owner will be Tairyo's manager.

Filling major vacancies isn't the village's only priority for Ogden, which stretches from near the restaurant east to I-355. A committee of about a half-dozen leaders created Lisle's Ogden Avenue Plan, which aims to encourage more retail, dining and decorative lighting and landscaping to bring the corridor in line with the village's downtown.

The committee researched development in nearby communities and residents' desires for local retail.

The plan isn't funded by Lisle, and Broda said last month there are no plans to create a tax increment financing district to spur development. He did say, however, future businesses building in the area will be strongly urged follow the plan.

“If you drive down Ogden, it's not very pretty ... we would like to make it look less like a strip or racetrack,” Broda said.

The Public Storage just west of Yackley Avenue made changes to help improve its aesthetics when it underwent recent renovations. Although Broda said such a business is not quite the type they hope to add to the major roadway in the future, he's pleased with the upgrades.

“They covered all the truck doors and just did a really nice job of cleaning that place up,” he said.

Leaders admit, however, the plan may be an extra cost to businesses if they chose to follow landscaping, lighting and other village recommendations. Tairyo was not asked to make major changes to its exterior, since it is an existing building and the plan is aimed primarily at new construction.

Broda did say, however, that landscaping upgrades will likely happen at Tairyo since plants and trees were neglected while the building was vacant. He added he believes it would behoove most business to support the Ogden plan, since it could help their bottom line.

“Any business will want to make their exterior look more appealing to attract customers,” he said. “And since many have to comply with landscaping and tree ordinances, for example, changes under the plan may not cost that much more.”