The American dream comes true for Lake Zurich business owner

Sergio Briseno's first job at the age of 16 was as a dishwasher at Mers Restaurant on Bangs Lake in Wauconda. He has been in restaurants ever since.

He worked as a waiter at the Club at Wynstone. And for the last 18 years, Briseno has been running his own establishment, Sergio's Fresh Mexican Grill, an operation he just expanded three fold. He started the restaurant in Round Lake Beach. About five years later, he moved to Lake Zurich, where he operated the 25-seat authentic Mexican restaurant at 660 Route 22. When the neighboring space in the strip mall recently became available, Briseno, 49, expanded the operation that can now seat 60. He is working on finishing a private party room that will seat another 20 people.

He says the nearby industrial park helps boost the midday crowd and he needed more space. “Our lunch business has exploded,” Briseno said.

Briseno, one of 10 children, and most of his siblings came to Wauconda from Mexico when he was 8. Four of his brothers are also in the restaurant business and own eight area establishments including Paul's Burrito Express in Barrington and Taco Burrito Express in Mundelein.

Briseno said his late brother, Raul, may have guided him the most when it came to restaurants. The duo owned Dos Hermanos in Wauconda.

Briseno explained that his brother died, at the age of 35, during a botched robbery of his McHenry restaurant, Burrito Express. His brother was killed in 2001 while struggling with robbers in a parking lot about 50 feet from the restaurant door. His killer is serving a 67-year sentence.

“My brother inspired me,” said Briseno, who graduated from Wauconda High School

His wife, Alicia, helps with the business. They live in Island Lake and their son, Kevin, attends Columbia College and helps out with the family business.

“The restaurant business is tough, but rewarding,” Briseno says. He says what he enjoys most about the industry is meeting new people, from attorneys to landscapers.

The fish tacos are one of the favorite menu items, he says, adding that there are many other favorites including hand made Tamales and chiles rellenos.

“Everything is prepared the way you would cook it at home,” Briseno said.

Topgolf breaks ground

Topgolf has broken ground on its Schaumburg location, its third venue in Illinois.

The new three-level, 65,000-square-foot venue is expected to open to the public in late 2019 and should attract 450,000 visitors a year, the company said.

“Chicago is the third-largest city in the U.S., and Schaumburg is its leading suburb, consistently ranked as one of the top places to live in the state,” said Chris Callaway, Topgolf chief development officer.

Topgolf opened in Wood Dale in 2007, followed by Naperville in 2015. Both venues employ more than 800 people. Topgolf will create an additional 500 full- and part-time jobs in Schaumburg.

Topgolf venues feature dining, drinks, big screen TVs, private event spaces and music in climate-controlled hitting bays for comfort. Year-round programming includes events for kids and families, social leagues, groups, golf tournaments and instruction.

The Schaumburg venue is a new prototype. The planned three-level venue features 102 climate-controlled hitting bays, a full-service restaurant and three bars, 250 high-definition flat-screen TVs, a 5,000-square-foot outdoor patio and 3,000 square feet of private event space. Half of all Topgolf guests describe themselves as “nongolfers,” the company said. Topgolf has 49 venues entertaining more than 13 million guests annually.

Shake shack opening soon

Shake Shack, the popular burger, fries and shake shop from New York, is opening suburban locations in Schaumburg and Oak Brook.

Shake Shack delivers a modern spin on the roadside hamburger stand, dishing up all-natural Angus beef burgers, flat-top beef hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and crinkle-cut fries as well as shakes and its signature frozen custard concretes.

The eatery, expanding across the country, is opening a location at 1701 E. Golf Road, according to the village of Schaumburg. The village said it is opening in spring 2019 in the Woodfield Gatherings outlot development where Honeygrow, MOD Pizza and Naf Naf Grill are located.

Another location is also opening later this year at 1950 Spring Road, just east of Oakbrook Center.

The chain now has more than 180 locations in the U.S. and across the globe. Locally, three of the restaurants operate in Chicago along with a location in Skokie at Old Orchard shopping Center. Another restaurant is under construction on North Clark Street in Wrigleyville.

Specialty shakes include festive holiday flavors such as Chocolate Peppermint, chocolate frozen custard blended with peppermint topped with whipped cream and chocolate peppermint candy crumbles; Christmas Cookie, and sugar cookie frozen custard.