Rolling Meadows alderman wants to use city money to bring restaurants to town

A Rolling Meadows alderman has proposed using city money to entice restaurants to open along Kirchoff Road.

The proposal from Alderman John D'Astice of Ward 6 calls for offering a mix of cash, sales tax sharing, property tax breaks and/or waived permit fees to anyone who opens a full-service restaurant along Kirchoff between Wilke Road and Route 53.

“I wanted to get this out there because many people said, ‘I want a restaurant. I want a restaurant,'” D'Astice said after Tuesday night's city council meeting, where he introduced the proposal.

The plan calls for offering any individual, group or small business that purchases land for a new restaurant the choice of a $10,000 check; a 50 percent city property tax reduction for the first year after opening and 25 percent reduction for the second year; or a food and beverage tax-sharing agreement where the city rebates 40 percent of taxes for the first year and 20 percent for the second year.

Anyone who rents or leases an existing space and opens a restaurant could get the choice of a $5,000 check; payment equal to three months' rent; or the food and beverage tax-sharing deal.

Whether a renter or buyer, all restaurants would get their permit fees waived, according to D'Astice's plan.

To get the incentives, restaurants would have to be open for business within a year of purchasing or leasing space. They would be paid within a month of the opening date.

D'Astice also has proposed giving finders fees to any individual, broker, business representative or agent who refers a new restaurant that opens on Kirchoff — $3,500 for a rental and $7,500 for a purchase.

He did not say how much the incentive program could cost the city but was confident it is something the city could budget for starting with the 2019 fiscal year.

Further details still need to be vetted by the city staff and council, he added. The city's economic development committee will discuss the plan Nov. 7, before it comes back to the council.

The council didn't weigh in on the proposal Tuesday, but after the meeting, Mayor Len Prejna called it a “viable” plan.