Year of courting Sunset Foods may pay off for Long Grove

The long-awaited Sunset Foods may finally make its way to Long Grove.

The village board will be looking at a proposal for the grocery store and other shops at a meeting tonight.

Village President Maria Rodriguez said the town has been trying to bring in Sunset Foods for more than a year now.

"There was a definite cry from residents for practical stores," she said. "It's a family-owned business; it's a high-end grocery store. We think it's going to be an absolutely perfect fit."

The store is proposed for a lot on the southeast corner of Route 83 and Aptakisic Road that will be developed by Mid-America Development Partners. The plot of land is 16.5 acres, and the grocery store is slotted to take up 48,000 square feet of land.

Michael Firsell, president of the development group, said Long Grove residents seem to fit the Sunset Foods clientele.

"With the high traffic volumes and the nature of the people who live there with their incomes, density and lifestyle, these are Sunset Food shoppers," Firsell said.

That area also serves as an entrance to Long Grove's historic downtown and is pivotal for a proposed tax increment financing district. The district is slated to improve rundown infrastructure such as sidewalks and lighting in the downtown and bring in more business.

Long Grove Trustee Ted Lazakis said the Sunset Foods property has some issues with access and water supply, so the TIF district may be instrumental to getting those issues resolved.

"Without this property being developed, there really isn't a big enough tax increment" to pay for downtown improvements, Lazakis said.

The village, however, hasn't approved that TIF district, which would potentially cover downtown and this property on Route 83.

Lazakis said the property owners and developers are aware that the TIF isn't guaranteed.

"We've been operating in good faith; they've seen the steps we've been taking," he said. "We certainly haven't made any representations that this is done."

Besides the Sunset Foods, the development could include a pharmacy, a coffee shop, a bank, a dry cleaner and a restaurant.

"Sunset Foods and the other stores are a shot in the arm economically to our village, and we hope they will help fund the renovation of the historic business district," Rodriguez said.