New BBQ place OK'd, part of W. Chicago rebirth plan

West Chicago aldermen Monday unanimously approved an incentive agreement that will make a bit of Texas a cornerstone of new downtown development plans.

The city council inked a deal that will let a new Texan Bar B Q restaurant open.

Under the incentive agreement, the city will waive $15,000 annually in property and sales taxes for the next 12 years.

Officials said they hope the barbecue restaurant will not only bring hickory-smoked favorites to patrons but also be an economic push to West Chicago.

"I think this is one more of the things we're trying to do to improve our economic base," City Treasurer Don Earley said.

The city first offered and approved incentives for the restaurant, including money toward design, in 2004. Plans for the restaurant fell through, though, and the deal was voided.

This time, city officials recommended against providing financial help toward the building design.

Developers broke ground for the sit-down restaurant just west of Route 59 at 540 Main St. on Oct. 22. The location puts the restaurant square in the middle of the "entryway" to West Chicago's downtown.

City officials recently said the area would be the focus of redevelopment efforts aimed at drawing traffic from the highly traveled Route 59 into the West Chicago's historic downtown.

The Texan Bar B Q will fill a needed niche, businessman Jim Madden said in a statement. Madden is a principal in the group TMO LLC, which is developing the restaurant.

"Our town has numerous fast-food establishments, but it lacks a large sit-down family restaurant with a diversity of menu choices," he said.

Madden's wife, Denise, is the daughter of the Texan Bar B Q's founder, who opened the first version of the restaurant in Algonquin in 1984.

The Madden family has also invested in the Gallery at Gateway Centre, condominium buildings in West Chicago that will be neighbors to the new restaurant.

The West Chicago Texan Bar B Q is expected to open by May with 5,115 square feet done in southwestern style, enough room for 140 patrons and another 44 diners outdoors.

It will include a sit-down bar, banquet facilities and a takeout entrance. The menu will feature southwestern specialties, soups, salads, and 20 different varieties of beer.