HUNTLEY ā Core Huntley, LLC, owner of Lot 4a of Huntley Crossings Phase I, had previously received final PUD (planned Unit Development) approval from the Village Board back in July for a multi-tenant building which included a Noodles and Company restaurant, an unnamed urgent care medical user, and a standalone Chipotle building.
Since that time, Core Huntley has reported to trustees that Noodles and Company is scaling back its operations in Illinois and therefore decided to no longer pursue the site. In an unexpected setback, the urgent care user also opted to back out as a tenant.
As for Chipotle, at the Nov. 9 Village Board meeting, Director of Development Services Charlie Nordman explained that Core Huntley has finalized the lease with the Mexican grill restaurant and anticipates moving forward with the construction of the building on Lot 4b this upcoming winter.
Due to the loss of its two original tenants for the site plan located at the southeast corner of Route 47 and Huntley Crossings Drive, the petitioner was forced to market their site to other potential users, eventually leading to securing the franchise 7 Brew Drive Thru Coffee to take over the location.
According to the Nov. 9 meeting agenda packet, the conceptual site plan for the proposed new establishment includes the construction of a prefabricated 800-square-foot building on the 146-acre lot. The 7 Brew concept operates with dual drive-through lanes, which are positioned in the side yard along Huntley Crossings Drive. The proposed coffee franchise does not have a dine-in option and would only serve hot and cold coffees, teas, smoothies, shakes, and sodas.
Following the presentation of the conceptual site plan, trustees shared their thoughts on the new proposed tenant.
Trustee John Piwko told the petitioner that there are many coffee establishments already located within Huntley, also adding that he doesnāt believe a standalone coffee shop like 7 Brew is going āto go down very well.ā As a final note, Piwko stated that he would be more open to the plans if the tenant was a sit-down restaurant instead.
Similarly, to Piwko, Trustee JR Westberg was not overly thrilled about the 7 Brew franchise. He questioned Core Huntley about reviews criticizing the loud music at other 7 Brew locations. The petitioner clarified that the music was for the employees who tend to mostly consist of high school students.
āI donāt feel as though we need another coffee joint. We got a lot of them,ā said Trustee Ric Zydorowicz. āThe location is off the beaten path from the high school.ā
Zydorowicz further stated that the younger residents of Huntley tend to travel towards the northern part of the village as opposed to where the conceptual site plan for 7 Brew is currently located. Overall, Zydorowicz was not in favor of the proposed new tenant.
Unlike the rest of the board, Trustee Ronda Goldman told the petitioners that she loved the new plan, however, she did take issue with a few aspects relating to 7 Brew.
Like Westberg, Goldman was also concerned about the loud music potentially being a disturbance to guests of the nearby Hampton Inn hotel. In addition, she stated that she believed the design of the establishment might be too modern for that area of Huntley seeing as Sun City is nearby. Despite her comments, Goldman said that she would not oppose the new plan.
Mayor Tim Hoeft was the last on the board to address the petitioners, telling Core Huntley that a large portion of the conceptual site plan doesnāt meet the villageās design guidelines, which is both an issue and a concern to him.
As a final word of advice, Hoeft simply told Core Huntley to continue to meet with village staff and move forward from there.
Since the presentation was for a conceptual review of the plan, no further action was required to be taken by the board.
