Golden Corral to replace shuttered Old Country Buffet in Arlington Heights

One buffet restaurant will replace another one when Golden Corral opens inside the shuttered Old Country Buffet in Arlington Heights, officials said.

The empty, 10,618-square-foot space at 445 E. Palatine Road within the Town & Country Center will be renovated, and a new storefront facade is being proposed. The village's design commission is expected to evaluate the planned exterior changes at its meeting Tuesday night.

The Arlington Heights location would join a suburban roster of Golden Corral buffets, including Algonquin, Aurora, Bolingbrook, Elgin, Gurnee, Joliet and Tinley Park. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based chain, founded in 1973, has about 485 restaurants in 42 states.

The Old Country Buffet in Arlington Heights closed in June 2016 after surviving an initial spate of nationwide closures months earlier as part of the parent company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and restructuring. The lone remaining Old Country Buffet in the area is in Chicago's Brickyard shopping center.

The exterior design of the new Golden Corral in Arlington Heights is based on the chain's new prototype brand standards. In a staff report to the design commission, village planners say the proposed colors and materials have a rich appearance and are nicely coordinated. They recommend approval, though they say a yellow LED accent strip light could be recessed.

The interior design and seating plan is subject only to village administrative review - not the plan commission or village board - since it is similar to what already has been approved for that space, according to Charles Witherington-Perkins, the village's director of planning and community development.

Upon design commission approval and receipt of building permits, Golden Corral would be able to open, though Witherington-Perkins did not know of the business' exact timeline.