PAXTON — As speculation continues to swirl around which fast-food restaurant will be attached to the new convenience store and gas station being built on Paxton’s west side, those in the know remain tight-lipped.
Mayor Bill Ingold, for one, is not saying.
“That is their story to tell,” Ingold said of the developers of the new commercial development just east of the Interstate 57 interchange. “They are the developers. They are putting the money into it. They would like to make the announcement.”
That announcement is not coming just yet, either.
“I talked with one of the owners,” the mayor said later in a text message, “and he said he will be glad to talk about the project, just not right now.”
Construction continues this week on a commercial development on Paxton’s west side where a new convenience store and fast-food restaurant will be opening. (Will Brumleve/Ford County Chronicle)
Since construction of the development began this spring at the former Paxton Auto Laundry & Lube Center property at 580 S. Cherry St. — plus two other parcels behind that lot at 552 and 560 S. Cherry St. — there has been a surge of speculation about what quick-serve restaurant is on the way. The owners of Paxton Commercial Investment Group LLC, the project’s developer, said last year that it would be a “national fast-food chain” but declined to name it.
On social media, practically everyone seems to think they know the answer — and some just might.
Some have said it will be a Dairy Queen — as reportedly stated by construction workers on site — but Dairy Queen’s corporate office is not saying that, too, at least just yet.
“It’s premature to share info at this time,” a Dairy Queen spokesman said via email when asked whether a new DQ was being built in Paxton. “Feel free to check back in six months.”
In six months, though, there should be no question about which new restaurant is there. Ingold said construction is on target for completion within just four to five months, likely in October or November.
“It’s going to start taking shape pretty soon,” the mayor said after visiting the construction site on Tuesday, June 30. “Everything is going good. Everything is going smoothly.”
Already, the frame of the 7,840-square-foot convenience store/restaurant building and the underground 30,000-gallon fuel tank for the gas station are in place. According to the building permit application for the 70-by-112-foot, one-story building — obtained from the city via a Freedom of Information Act request — it will include 12 rooms, including a gaming room, and cost an estimated $3,695,994. The lot will include 12 fuel pumps, at least three electric vehicle charging stations and 15 parking spaces, including one handicapped parking space.
The building permit application, dated Feb. 27 and approved by building administrator Matt Rock on March 18, listed the project’s architect as Jeff Jarvis of Kankakee and the contractor as Hillside Development Group LLC of Iroquois.
The application listed the “owner” as Haresh Patel of Monticello, one of the owners of Paxton Commercial Investment Group. According to public records, he also owns Subway restaurants in both Paxton and Monticello and the Bement Cafe in Bement. Also, he owns Illinois-based corporations called Dosti Watseka LLC, JSK MA Hospitality LLC and the recently established Dosti Paxton LLC and Dosti Paxton Dairy LLC.
“These guys are businessmen,” Ingold said of Patel and his Paxton Commercial Investment Group colleagues. “It’s a very well-thought-out, professional plan (for the project). I mean, they know down to what kinds of candy bars sell the best, so it’s not like they’re going in there and just saying, ‘Hey, let’s just see what works.’ They have a pretty good plan. And they want to make it right in Paxton, and they want to do what is good for Paxton. They’ve told me that.”
Ingold said he hopes the new gas station and restaurant will be a popular stop for northbound and southbound travelers on nearby I-57 — one that is safe and clean “where people can get gas, use the restrooms, get food or go buy snacks or whatever else they might want to get.”
In addition to boosting the city’s sales and property tax revenue, the new business is expected to employ an estimated 35 staff, developers have said.
Ingold said the city council likely will consider approval of a proposed redevelopment agreement for the project, which is located in the city’s tax-increment financing (TIF) district, during its next meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at City Hall, 145 S. Market St. The agreement would reimburse the developers for eligible costs to redevelop the property.
“There’s going to be a TIF agreement with them,” Ingold said.
