Buffalo Wild Wings coming to Elk Grove Village Town Center
Buffalo Wild Wings will open a location in Elk Grove Village this summer, village officials said.
The popular restaurant and sports bar chain, which has some 40 locations throughout Chicago and the suburbs, is moving into a vacant strip mall space at 944 Elk Grove Town Center, near Biesterfield and Arlington Heights roads.
The building has been vacant for the last year, after the closing of Crazy II Buffet, a Chinese restaurant. The space formerly housed Topa Tavern & Grill and Cucina Roma.
Mayor Craig Johnson said Buffalo Wild Wings officials were drawn to the location because of plans to open a nearby Joe Caputo & Sons grocery store, which would be the anchor tenant in the shopping center.
Caputo officials initially planned to open their 72,000-square-foot store in the former Dominick's location last fall. But they've delayed the opening because of ongoing interior renovation work.
Buffalo Wild Wings will be completing renovations of their own, including two outdoor patios, and is aiming to be open by August.
Johnson hopes to convince restaurant officials to open a month earlier, in conjunction with the village's summer concert series, held on the Village Green behind the Town Center.
The eatery won't take up the entire building space as the three previous restaurant tenants did. Chase Bank, which currently has a location in the strip mall, is relocating to a space north of Buffalo Wild Wings.
Johnson said he previously had questions about whether the former restaurants needed the entire building space, and believes Buffalo Wild Wings “is doing it the right way” for its size.
The village board on Tuesday approved the restaurant's request for the outdoor patios, one of which will be in front and the other in the rear of the building. The front patio, which will be under an existing walkway overhang, will have seating for 54 people, as well as 14 televisions. The back patio, which will be under a new canopy structure, will have 40 seats and seven TVs. Each patio will have ceiling fans and heaters, and be enclosed by metal railings to prevent patrons from entering from the outside.