McAlister's Deli, Denny's to open in Elgin this fall
Two new casual dine-in restaurants are expected to open along the Randall Road corridor in Elgin late this fall, right next to each other.
McAlister's Deli and Denny's are both going up along Randall Road, and should be open before the year's end, said city of Elgin building official Raoul Johnston.
Construction work began on the building that will house the restaurants in mid-March, he said. The city issued the permit for the building at 1120 S. Randall Road on March 6 and work began soon after, Johnston said.
The exterior is basically completed, and work should soon be beginning inside, Johnston said. Within the past week, crews picked up the permit for the interior work on Denny's, and that should be starting.
"The permit for the McAlister's Deli is ready to be issued but has not yet been picked up," he said. "Both of these projects have been listed to be completed prior to the end of the year."
When they are complete, the restaurants will be a good addition to the Randall Road corridor, city officials said, offering new dining opportunities, as well as more jobs.
"The addition of these … restaurants into Elgin is an example that Elgin continues to attract new businesses, industrial, commercial, retail, as well as restaurants, to the area to provide various job opportunities and choices to the community," Johnston said.
This is the second McAlister's Deli location along the Randall Road corridor. The first opened in October 2015 in Geneva at 1492 S. Randall Road.
If you went to Illinois State University, University of Illinois or Purdue, you are probably familiar with the deli, which is popular in many college towns, including Oxford, Mississippi, where it originated. However, others who haven't frequented those areas may have never heard of it.
There are only a handful of McAlister's Delis in the Chicagoland area; however, it has been expanding to the suburbs, satisfying many who fondly remember heading out to eat at McAlister's during college.
Presently, there are McAlister's Delis in Bloomingdale, Deerfield, Naperville, Vernon Hills and Geneva.
The restaurant is fast, casual dining serving American regional favorites. Patrons step into the restaurant, order their food, and then get table service after that. Servers bring the food to the table, and can get you drink refills and clear your plates.
The restaurant serves up regional favorites, as well as a variety of soups daily.
Denny's, which unlike McAlister's has been in the Chicagoland area for many years, has locations throughout the suburbs and has been expanding.
In addition to the Elgin location opening this fall, a new Denny's is expected to open along the Randall Road corridor in Batavia on Sept. 18 at 521 N. Randall Road.
The casual restaurant chain, which serves breakfast all day long, as well as lunch and dinner, opened a new location in Huntley last year.
• Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from Batavia to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or (847) 894-5036.