New restaurants power Mount Prospect's economic engine

The economic engine of Mount Prospect continues to chug away, with special emphasis on the fostering of entrepreneurial entities, Mayor Arlene Juracek told several hundred local business leaders and other officials Thursday during the annual Economic Development Commission Business Breakfast.

The annual event featured the presenting of the community's first Economic Development Commission awards, and a rundown on recent business activity in the village from Bill Cooney, Mount Prospect's community development director.

Much of that activity is occurring in the village's downtown, where among the biggest changes has been the demolition of Central Plaza, a nearly empty, dilapidated strip center that dated to the 1960s.

The center was demolished in September and is undergoing an environmental clean up, Cooney said. Once that is complete, a lien will be placed on the property to recover the village's costs and the property will go through foreclosure and a subsequent auction.

Cooney expects that there won't be actual construction on the site until at least the spring of 2017.

Elsewhere downtown, the space that formerly held Ye Olde Town Inn will reopen this fall as Tokens and Tankards, a “gastrocade” combining food, drink and arcade games. The neighboring Blues Bar property will reopen as Bar 145, and the former Jake's Pizza on Northwest Highway is undergoing a massive renovation and will reopen as Trezero's Kitchen and Tap.

The property along Route 83 which once held the historic Tudor-style Busse Building before it burned down in early 2014 has been purchased by Norwood Builders, Cooney said. He expects the company to request permission to construct single-story buildings on the site featuring retail and restaurant space, possibly with rooftop dining.

Restaurants are also reviving the corner of Golf and Busse Roads, Cooney said. The former Black Cow restaurant has reopened as Draft Picks sports bar near the intersection that also features Jelly Café, Retro Bistro and Qulinarnia.

At Randhurst Village, an Outback Steak House is expected to open later this month, and Papa Saverio's Pizza has been approved to take over the space of Tony Sacco's Pizza. Randhurst's new owner, DLC Management Corp., is considering the demolition of the Chase Bank building at the corner of Route 83 and Euclid Avenue to develop more out-lots, Cooney said.

The village expects a boost in industrial and office investment once the Elmhurst Road interchange along Interstate 90 is complete next year, Cooney said. And the village welcomed five new tenants into the Kensington Business Center over the past year, bringing its vacancy rate down to 13.5 percent, he added.

Among the winners of the inaugural EDC awards, Nothing Bundt Cakes, owned by Cindy Adams, received the Budding Business Award for a business open less than five years. Capannari's Ice Cream, owned by Katie and Ken Dix and Meg and Jim Capannari, earned the Enduring Business Award for businesses open more than five years. Colleen Kelly and Tricia Fusilero, owners of Travel Film Productions LLC, were named the Entrepreneurial Businesspersons of the Year.