New Bibibop Asian Grill part of 'reemergence' of old Arlington Heights shopping center
Bibibop Asian Grill will move into a newly constructed retail building on Palatine Road in Arlington Heights, in what is the latest sign of revitalization of the Southpoint Shopping Center.
The 2,169-square-foot fast casual restaurant with a drive-through at 715 E. Palatine Road will join four other locations in Illinois — Schaumburg, Vernon Hills, Oak Brook and downtown Chicago — and 65 across the country. The restaurant chain features the build-your-own bowl concept, allowing patrons to choose from a variety of proteins, rice, vegetables and sauces.
Bibibop will share the 4,419-square-foot outlot building with an AT&T store set to open there next week. Initial plans called for a single restaurant to occupy the whole building.
Just to the west, Chipotle recently opened in a 2,385-square-foot building at 711 E. Palatine Road. In February 2022, village trustees approved its drive-through to be the first “app only” one in town, in which customers place orders ahead of time for pickup at the window — sans menu boards or speakers.
On Monday night, they gave the same special use approval for Bibibop's drive-through.
Richard Silverman, vice president of development at MJK Real Estate, the property owner that inked a lease with Bibibop, said the app-based food ordering business has only increased since the pandemic.
He said it would be Bibibop's first pickup-only drive-through in Illinois but noted there's dedicated parking spaces for drivers to pull into if the order isn't ready or they decide to download the app.
The restaurant also will have 30 seats inside and a patio.
Trustee Robin LaBedz, who works near the Bibibop in the Loop and has had lunch there often, said the eatery would be a great addition to that part of Arlington Heights, calling it a “reemergence of Southpoint.”
At Home, a furniture and home decor store, opened in March after major renovations to the 100,000-square-foot big-box store formerly occupied by Bif Furniture. Consumers Credit Union opened a new 3,460-square-foot branch in June on other parking lot property MJK owns within Southpoint.
And Silverman said he plans to return to the village board in the next few months with two other projects at the shopping center.
Bibibop is expected to open toward the end of the year.