For the second time in months Glenview is putting its money where the village’s collective mouths are to attract a new restaurant downtown.
The village board recently gave preliminary zoning relief to restaurateur, Nick Phillipas, to open a eatery called the “Filling Station” in a shuttered service station at 1148 Waukegan Road in downtown Glenview this coming Spring. The board is expected to give final approval to the zoning initiative during its Jan. 23 meeting.
The Filling Station will be Philippas’s third eatery in the north suburb. He also owns and operates, Joe Donut and North Branch Pizza and Burger Company. According to a memo filed with the village, the new 2,500-square-foot restaurant will serve pork, lamb, rotisserie chicken, and Detroit-style pizzas from a wood-burning oven and a “Joe Donut-themed brunch.”
“We haven’t finalized the menu yet.” Phillipas told the board. “We do have a celebrity chef coming from Chicago. We’re still figuring out the final theme of it. We’re not one hundred % there yet.”
The village is doing more than just signing off on zoning relief to attract new downtown businesses. It’s also helping them out financially as part of Glenview’s downtown revitalization plan. Last year, village trustees approved a 10-year, $550,000 forgivable loan for Philippas to open the new restaurant.
“The money for this loan will come from the permanent fund, which was established in 1996 as part of ‘The Glen’ redevelopment,” said David Just, Community Engagement Manager with the Village of Glenview.
“Twenty % of the proceeds from the sale of land within The Glen come to the village and go into the permanent fund,” he explained. “Eligible uses of the permanent fund include economic development initiatives outside The Glen, such as this one, and capital projects, such as roadway improvements, storm and sanitary sewer, etc.”
According to the village website, the Glenview Village Board adopted a “Downtown Strategic Plan” in August 2021 in conjunction with the Glenview Connect process and the review of an Economic Development Strategic Plan to be used as “a guidebook to ready the environment for future economic development in the community.” It goes on to say that the “objective was a revitalized Downtown Glenview will provide more reasons to be there including a greater variety of shops, local and high-end restaurants, and special events.”
“The feedback the village heard was loud and clear,” Just said. “To revitalize Downtown Glenview and bring in new venues to visit, shop and dine.”
A service station at 1148 Waukegan Road closed 17 years ago and building is defined as blighted and has been vandalized over the years.
The loan agreement with LLC Philippas says Philippas must keep the restaurant operating with a minimum of 80 seats for 10 years, forgiving the loan at 10 % or $55,000 each year. Default on the loan or failure to live up to the terms of the agreement would trigger a 2% interest penalty.
“The village providing these economic incentives to restaurant owners is us making good on the feedback from the community and it’s in keeping with the road map created in the strategic plans,” said Just.
Last Spring, trustees approved a $4 million incentive package of grants and loans with Ballyhoo Hospitality to open a 6,000-square-foot, 200-seat restaurant in the 1700 block of Glenview Road. And, the village board also approved an economic assistance agreement with The Drake Group in September of 2023 for construction of a new mixed-use development at the former Bess Hardware site in the 1800 block of Glenview Road.
“The structure of each development agreement is different, though, and in both cases village money is being used to support the funding each developer is putting into the projects,” Just said.
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
