'The best bagels in Chicago': Lisle trustees eager for Schmaltz Deli to move to town

Lisle trustees have agreed to provide $85,000 in grant funding to help Schmaltz Deli move its flagship from Naperville to a vacant restaurant on Ogden Avenue.

If all goes as planned, the traditional Jewish delicatessen would open in the new spot in September, bringing its fan base and old-school menu to Lisle.

The family-owned deli still needs to clear several hurdles to make the move, but the village already is putting out the welcome mat.

"I'm from New York, and these are the best bagels in Chicago," Trustee Marie Hasse said.

The village board has given preliminary approval to the deli's grant request. A formal vote is expected on April 5.

Schmaltz plans to invest about $1.7 million to revitalize the former Chinn's 34th Street Fishery so the deli can move and expand just down the street from the original location in a Naperville strip mall with limited parking.

The stand-alone building in Lisle will enable Schmaltz to grow in several ways. The deli could potentially open a drive-through and serve sit-down breakfast, lunch and dinner. The owners also are looking to create a full bakery and retail grocery area.

"We bake our own cheesecakes, all our own cookies, just everything from scratch, and this would give us an opportunity to enlarge it even more because we're making it a separate area," Schmaltz CEO Mark Goodman said.

But it's a challenging site to develop, Goodman said. The Chinn's building was constructed more than 40 years ago. It will require a sizable investment just to meet village building codes and DuPage County Health Department standards, Goodman said. For instance, the roof is in "complete disrepair" and needs to be replaced.

"It hasn't had the maintenance that it needed over the years, and there's quite a bit of work that needs to be done," Goodman said.

The deli has asked for a $15,000 grant from the village's retail business build-out program as well as $70,000 from Lisle's restaurant grant program, which currently calls for awarding up to $50,000 in funding.

Based on the deli's financial projections, the additional $20,000 would be recouped in sales tax revenue within about eight months of the business opening, according to village documents.

"The village has not had an application, nor have we made an award out of this grant program, in over two years," said Richard Wilke, a member of the village's economic development commission. "The payback for this particular proposal is about two and a half years. It could take that long in our town to find another buyer. It is not uncommon for buildings to stay vacant and land to stay vacant on Ogden Avenue for much longer than that period of time."

The primary owners of Schmaltz Restaurant Group have an agreement with the seller to buy the vacant property. The purchase agreement is contingent on receiving the $85,000 grant.

"It's an established business that I think will transfer well over to this new location," said Trustee Anthony Carballo, who expressed support for the funding.

Some board members commended the deli for its expansion plans during the pandemic. The Lisle spot also would have room for outdoor dining.

"I think one of the advantages that we have is that we're a destination location," Goodman said. "You come to us because you know the quality that we have, the offerings that we have, and our people, too."

A short rib burger could be among the new offerings on an already lengthy menu. Sandwiches come piled high with pastrami or corned beef.

"It's cured just for us," Goodman said. "It's not what you're going to find in another restaurant."

In 2019, the Goodman family became majority owners of Schmaltz Restaurant Group. The family also is looking to bring its Wheaton concept - a smaller, "express" outpost that opened in the city's downtown last year - to other towns.

The larger Lisle kitchen would serve as the hub to feed the other stores, Goodman said.

"We do look to the future to be able to open more Wheaton-type locations around the Western suburbs and further expand," he said.