An agreement granting a Glenview business owner a forgivable $750,000 loan to develop a new downtown restaurant will remain in effect as the proposed venture moves to a new location, village elected officials decided last month.
It’s part of more than $13 million in financial assistance provided by the village of Glenview to downtown restaurants since 2024.
The Glenview Village Board on March 19 unanimously approved an amended 2024 loan agreement supporting Nick Philippas’ efforts to bring a Smoque BBQ location to the first floor of a three-story office building at 1132 Waukegan Road, the southwest corner of Waukegan and Grove Street.
The only change to the agreement, according to village officials, is the address of the proposed restaurant, which is now planned for across the street from the initial site identified in the 2024 agreement. The earlier property, 1131 Waukegan Road, currently houses an auto repair shop and is listed for sale for $949,000 on real estate websites. The property at 1132 Waukegan Road is listed for $2.5 million and includes an adjacent vacant lot, according to real estate listings.
Under the terms of the agreement, which identifies Philippas as the developer of the project, the village will lend Philippas $750,000 toward the estimated $5.5 million development cost at the newly proposed location. That cost includes the purchase price of the building and complete remodeling of all three floors, village officials said.
The agreement allows the loan to be repaid over 10 years, but the payments will be forgiven by the village if the restaurant remains in operation for 10 years.
If Smoque BBQ ceases operation before the 10-year period is over, the owner will be required to pay back the remainder of the loan plus 6% interest.
“As part of this agreement, Smoque needs to be the tenant for the mixed use building,” said Jeff Brady, director of community development for the village of Glenview. “If Smoque were, at some point, to leave as the restaurant occupant on the first floor, there is the ability for the developer to replace [the restaurant] with a consistent user. That ultimately would need to be approved by the village.”
In 2023, the village provided Philippas with a separate, $550,000 forgivable loan toward the development of what became Ovvio Italian Taverna, which opened in late 2025 and is located just across Grove Street from the proposed Smoque BBQ.
That agreement remains in effect without changes, said Village Spokesperson David Just.
According to information provided by the village, Philippas holds Glenview business licenses for Joe Donut at 1025 Harlem Avenue and North Branch Pizza and Burger Co., 4520 W. Lake Avenue. He also holds a liquor license for Ovvio Italian Taverna.
Philippas clarified that he is not an owner of Smoque BBQ. He said environmental issues on the original site at 1131 Waukegan Road prompted the project to move to the new location across the street.
Philippas said the village funds used for the development of the restaurant will “come back in the form of sales tax” and that financial assistance from the village is necessary in order for development to occur.
“The money goes to the development of the property, not necessarily Smoque,” he said. “The village protected the taxpayers’ money by saying, ‘hey, they have to keep producing sales tax, keep producing property taxes, keep people employed.’ Otherwise the money becomes a loan that [has to be paid back].”
In 2024, village officials calculated that Smoque BBQ would generate approximately $831,000 in sales tax over 10 years. Subtracting the $750,000 loan, the village will receive a net benefit of $81,000 over that 10-year period.
With a location in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood since 2006, Smoque BBQ is a neighborhood bar and restaurant serving barbecue ribs, brisket and pulled pork. It was named among the “top places for brisket outside of Texas” by the New York Times in 2019 and a “top BBQ” by Zagat.
“There’s been a lot of excitement for Smoque to come to town,” said Glenview Trustee Mary Cooper.
Brady said the real estate closing on 1132 Waukegan and the vacant lot to the south is expected to occur in April and remodeling work on the building is anticipated to begin in late summer.
Bringing the high-end restaurants, shops and special events that residents have said they want in downtown Glenview will require financial assistance, Brady told the Village Board during the December 2024 consideration of the $750,000 loan request for Smoque BBQ.
Other establishments have also received economic help to open and operate in the downtown area amid a multi-year revitalization effort supported by Glenview officials.
Information shared by the village indicates that the village has provided approximately $13 million in grants and loans to downtown restaurant operators. In addition to Smoque BBQ and Ovvio, the establishments include Foxtail, 1843 Glenview Road; Jackman and Co., 1749 Glenview Road; Zenzi Den, 1822 Glenview Road; Spiro’s Deli, 1880 Glenview Road; and Hometown Coffee and Juice, 1869 Grove Street. Some of them have not opened yet.
The operators of Zenzi Den received the largest financial package: $3.55 million. Foxtail followed with $2.9 million.
In 2023, the Village Board approved $1.9 million for the former Patio Shops property at 1755 River Drive, which was turned into a 60-stall public parking lot last year.
Funding for this purchase and the restaurant incentives came from the village’s Permanent Fund, created 30 years ago with a portion of proceeds from the sale of Naval Air Station Glenview properties, and a repayment from a tax increment financing (TIF) fund related to the build-out of The Glen, a retail and residential development on the former air station property.
Pioneer Press Reporter Claire Murphy contributed.
