Schaumburg approves British pub-style HopScotch restaurant next to library
A variety of British-, Indian- and American-style pub fare is on its way to the last undeveloped site in Schaumburg's Town Square, just northeast of the Schaumburg Township District Library.
Village trustees Tuesday approved the proposal for the two-story HopScotch restaurant, which will have a 6,342-square-foot footprint on the 1.7-acre lot at 40 S. Roselle Road.
The village also expects to soon close on its $225,000 sale of the site to developer Dipak Lodhia, completing a 26-year-old goal of its acquisition of the Town Square property.
While Lodhia has an ambitious goal of his own to construct and open the restaurant in 2023, the deadline in the village's development agreement has been set less urgently for September 2024.
Among the menu items suggested so far are chicken and mushroom pies, vegetarian pies, Cornish pasties, beans on toast, samosas, lamb keema, chicken curry, Chana masala, sliders, wings, jumbo shrimp, hummus, mac and cheese bites, falafel, hummus and a sweet shop.
While the food offerings are meant to be eclectic, the restaurant's name is a reference to the alcoholic beverages in which it plans to specialize.
The design of the restaurant includes outdoor patio space on both levels.
Despite how long a tenant has been sought for the space next to Oberweis, zoning board members expressed some concerns about the adequacy of available parking for the new business ahead of their 7-0 recommendation vote for the village board's approval.
Lodhia created the restaurant brands Porto's Peri Peri and Vasco's Peri Peri, which later were bought by investors. But he said he plans to hold onto HopScotch.
His vision is for a pub-themed restaurant reminiscent of his native London, but with an even more diverse range of dishes.
Along with the imminent opening of Tony's Fresh Market in the long-empty Dominick's building nearby, Schaumburg officials see HopScotch as part of a renaissance for Town Square.
After closing costs and broker fees, the village projected last year that it would make $190,000 on the sale and then receive $120,000 annually in food and beverage taxes and sales taxes from HopScotch.