Two new Hoffman restaurants in line for tax breaks
Hoffman Estates officials are recommending that new Moretti's and Whiskey River restaurants at the southeast corner of Higgins and Barrington roads be eligible for up to $550,000 in property tax reimbursements from the tax increment finance district in which they're locating.
Both restaurants initially were aiming for November openings, but Jim Earley, corporate general manager for Schaumburg-based Ala Carte Entertainment, said the company ended up doing more rehab work on the existing buildings than originally intended.
Though work is progressing, neither restaurant has a specific opening date, Earley said.
The TIF district, which encompasses the area around the corner of Higgins and Barrington roads, is set to expire in seven years, after 23 years in existence.
TIF districts work by freezing property taxes collected by local taxing bodies at the level of the first year. The taxes paid above that amount each year go to a municipal fund that helps pay for public improvements within the district.
Village officials declared Ala Carte eligible for some reimbursement from the fund as an incentive to help fill two long-vacant buildings on the site's five-lot restaurant campus.
Moretti's is taking over the building that was Max & Erma's before briefly becoming Metropolis Bar & Grill. Whiskey River will occupy the former Lone Star steakhouse.
The three remaining restaurants on the site, which survived the recession, are a T.G.I. Friday's, Steak 'n Shake and Romano's Macaroni Grill.
While Moretti's is well known already for its more than half a dozen other locations in the region, Whiskey River is a new concept for Ala Carte. The first Whiskey River opened at 702 N. River Road in Mount Prospect during the summer.
Whiskey River features high-quality barbecue and honky-tonk music and entertainment, Ala Carte Vice President Mark Hoffman said.
The company originally sought eligibility for just over $900,000 in TIF funding, but the village settled on $550,000.
The reimbursement will be paid out over five years from the two restaurants' own property tax payments, said Hoffman Estates Economic Development Coordinator Kevin Kramer.
The Hoffman Estates village board will vote on the recommended reimbursement at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 3.