Set up restaurant outside Vernon Hills

I have been waiting seven years (since I moved here) for a Chick-fil-A to come to Lake County. When I lived in Orlando, I used to go to Chick-fil-A once a week for their chicken sandwiches. But now, thanks to Vernon Hills’ mayor and board of trustees, I will have to wait a little longer.

From the article I read here in the Daily Herald regarding Chick-fil-A trying to establish a restaurant in Vernon Hills, the company has been trying for three years now to add a restaurant to the village, but the officials of Vernon Hills have been making it very difficult for them.

The mayor of the village, Roger Byrne, was even quoted at the last board meeting as saying “In all honesty, this is nothing special to the village. It’s a fast-food restaurant. We have plenty of them.”

I’m assuming then that the mayor doesn’t really care about getting more business into Vernon Hills because believe me, Chick-fil-A brings a lot of business. The newly opened Chick-fil-A in Schaumburg had police controlling the flow of customers for months.

It’s a great company that takes care of its employees (Sundays they’re closed) as well as their customers. But I guess since Vernon Hills has so many restaurants already, the mayor doesn’t feel they need any more.

Of course, don’t worry that the village has lost three restaurants in the past year or so (Max & Erma’s, Ruby Tuesdays, & Famous Dave’s). My advice to Chick-fil-A is to look at other villages in Lake County.

Mundelein has a lot of restaurants lined up on Route 60 just down the street from Vernon Hills; Libertyville has a great downtown for a restaurant; and Lincolnshire has really built up a wonderful eating/shopping area on Milwaukee Avenue.

Vernon Hills isn’t the only choice in Lake County for some great chicken sandwiches. Just food for thought.

Shawn Killackey

Mundelein