Gurnee willing to spend $1.425 million to land a Portillo's
Gurnee will invest up to $1.425 million to prepare a site for a Portillo's, in what was described as a tenacious effort to lure the popular restaurant.
The village board on Monday approved an agreement to reimburse the Mall at Gurnee Mills LLC to develop a site for Portillo's on Ring Road, northeast of Bass Pro Shops.
The pact calls for the village to pay up to $1.2 million out of its general fund for utility and other work associated with the preparations. Anything over that amount, up to $1.425 million, would involve sales tax sharing, Mayor Kristina Kovarik said.
Kovarik said negotiations involved representatives from Gurnee Mills owner Simon Property Group Inc. and Portillo's.
"This deal was put together in less than 30 days," she said. "It is absolutely the number-one request I've gotten from residents the last 10 years. It always comes up."
Kovarik said an announcement in early April regarding Portillo's moving into the former Applebee's spot at 6447 Grand Ave., was premature. That deal didn't materialize, but the village was intent on not losing an opportunity to have a Portillo's in town, she said.
The restaurant is expected to draw big crowds quickly, which would generate sales tax revenue for the village.
"This is a much better site," she said. "It's got a very quick return on investment for us." Kovarik said she expects the restaurant to have a "halo effect" on the region, and become a destination for tourists and residents. Portillo's would be a "powerhouse addition" to the village's regional shopping and tourism corridor, she added.
Portillo's spokesman Nick Scarpino said the company was thrilled to be coming to Gurnee.
"Gurnee residents have been reaching out to Dick Portillo and asking him to bring a Portillo's to their city for years. We looked at a few locations in Gurnee but the one we chose was ultimately the best location for us," Scarpino said in an email.
The restaurant will be the furthest north among its nearly three dozen Illinois locations, with the closest being Vernon Hills. The Gurnee location will feature a 1920s and 1930s old Chicago theme and have a two-lane drive through, according to a Gurnee Mills release. Two hundred employees will be hired. Kovarik said Portillo's wants to open by early November.
"Signed, sealed, delivered - it's ours!!" Kovarik posted on Gurnee Wants Portillo's Facebook page. She thanked Gurnee Mills for "creating a spot to save the deal," as well as residents and others for sustained support.
The agreement is not the only restaurant news at Gurnee Mills this week. The mall on Monday announced a Buffalo Wild Wings will open in the fall next to Marshall's. The village board on Monday approved a liquor license for the eatery.
The mall also announced planned fall openings of a Denim retail store and Books-A-Million, both between the Sports Authority and TJ MAXX.
Kovarik said the Portillo's deal was one of the developments she hinted at last month in her State of the Village address, but not the biggest one.
"We have another deal that's coming this fall," she said.