Changes could be coming to several restaurants outside Woodfield Mall

Changes are coming to the Bar Louie and former Panera Bread and Chevys Fresh Mex restaurant buildings on the outskirts of Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.

And a requested rezoning of the 3.7-acre property at Golf and Meacham roads could expand the possibilities beyond restaurants to a variety of retail uses, if granted by the village board next week.

However, even if that is approved, it's likely that the Chevys and Panera sites' next use will be as restaurants.

Last winter, village trustees approved Shabu-You Japanese restaurant, an affiliate of the Skylark Group, to move into the 8,400-square-foot building that Chevys occupied for 23 years before its sudden closing in July 2018.

Though those plans haven't changed, no work to transform the building into Shabu-You has occurred, Schaumburg Community Development Director Julie Fitzgerald said.

Tim Gallagher, a representative of the property's owner, told village board members this week that a breakfast and lunch restaurant has signed a letter of intent to move into the building Panera left behind when it relocated to a new Meacham Road site with a drive-through.

Though he didn't reveal the name of the restaurant, Gallagher said its owners hope to add a patio and four-season room before opening.

Gallagher said Bar Louie is in default on its payments and likely to be evicted within the next two weeks. Its building, formerly the site of a proposed a recreational marijuana dispensary, more recently has received interest as office space for a financial advisor, Gallagher said.

Although that is permitted under the site's current B-3 zoning, Gallagher is seeking a B-2 general business zoning.

With vacancies along Schaumburg's Golf Road corridor at a 10-year high, Gallagher argued that the zoning change would allow him to fill the vacancies more quickly under his control. His property is the only one of the 38 along the corridor zoned B-3.

Village trustees debated the request at length this week, with some citing concerns that B-2 zoning could allow uses the village wouldn't want at such a prominent corner, such as a car wash.

Gallagher offered to meet with village staff before next week's vote to come up with a list of uses that wouldn't be sought under the B-2 zoning.

Whether such a list could be prepared in time remains in question, officials said.