Chipotle, Noodles & Company proposed for Huntley site

A development being considered by Huntley officials would bring Chipotle and Noodles & Company restaurants to town, along with an urgent care facility.

The proposal for a 7-acre site along Route 47 near the Hampton Inn hotel was presented to the village board last week for a conceptual review, an early step in the approval process.

Developer Core Acquisitions acquired the project site in June 2022, according to village documents.

Core initially proposed a stand-alone retailer and a Valvoline Instant Oil Change for the site, but after village feedback, a plan was put forward calling for two buildings — one with multiple tenants and a stand-alone restaurant with a drive-through.

It's expected the tenant of the stand-alone building will be a Chipotle, while the other building will feature a Noodles & Company and an urgent care business, according to village material.

However, the planned tenants are not yet locked in and could change, Adam Bell, vice president of development for Core, told village trustees last week. The company does not yet have signed leases with the tenants.

“It is not guaranteed at this point,” Bell said. “But we are very confident.”

A few trustees thanked Bell and Core for listening to feedback they gave back in December. Trustees at that time said they did not want the oil change business in that spot, with the consensus preference being a restaurant instead.

Feedback last week meeting was more supportive, with some minor changes requested. Trustees Niko Kanakaris and Harry Leopold asked if the two-tenant building could be pushed back to allow for space on the front of the building. Leopold said doing so could provide more space for outdoor dining.

Kanakaris also asked if the parking lot could be expanded a little bit “so it's not such a cluster.”

“If we could just give him a variance and get this parking lot normal, it would flow much better for everybody,” he said.

With the project still being in the conceptual review phase, trustees were not required to vote or express support for the project. For the project to be formally approved, it will have to go through the village's plan commission and then back to the village board for final approval.

The developer also needs a special permit to allow for the two drive-thrus, according to village material.

Deerfield-based Core has built developments across roughly two dozen towns in Illinois, as well as cities in Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Wisconsin and Michigan, according to its website.

“Everyone's very excited about this proposal,” Bell said. “But we still have some work to do.”