Restaurant discount program coming to Hoffman Estates

Hoffman Estates officials hope to line up local restaurants to participate in a new program that will offer residents 10 percent off their dining checks.

The aim is to give a boost to restaurant business while encouraging residents to forget about the Hot Pockets and Hamburger Helper, go out and eat local.

Economic Development Director Gary Skoog said the village will at first bypass the chain restaurants, opting to approaching community eateries to participate in a new program the village board gave preliminary approval for on Monday. The village would mail out discount cards to residents who could present them for a 10 percent discount at participating eateries. The first restaurants will be approached over the next two weeks, Skoog said.

Skoog said the national chains would take longer to gain approval to sign up, as they needed to go through corporate red tape. They'll be approached later.

Hoffman Estates is following the lead of a program started last year in Elk Grove Village. Each card would expire after a year. The restaurants would be listed on the village's Web site and newsletter. The program is estimated to cost $3,500 from the economic development department's advertising budget.

The aim is to lure people to restaurants throughout the village, not just those near the Sears Centre, where the village is developing an entertainment district, a distinction Trustee Raymond Kincaid asked for clarification on during Monday's meeting.