A new, locally owned bar and grill could open north of Eight Corners if village officials approve the development.
Dubbed the Eight Corners Restaurant, the proposal would bring contemporary dining with a rooftop deck to 3415 Maple Ave., Community Development Director Libby Popovic told the Landmark.
“It’s going to be a bar and grill restaurant for families to be able to get together and enjoy the area,” she said. “From the rooftop deck, it looks like you should be able to see into the city. For [the owners], it was really important to have something that brings families together but also is aesthetically pleasing.”
Trustees are set to discuss requested variations from village code for the proposal at their April 13 committee of the whole meeting and are expected to put it up for a vote at their regular meeting two weeks later.
The proposed developers, Kent Mills and Mark Farnan, according to their application documents, have a connection to Brookfield, Popovic said. Farnan grew up in the area, she said, while Mills appears to live in Countryside.
“They’re very familiar with Brookfield. They know that Brookfield has a very strong community feel, and they’re familiar with Eight Corners,” Popovic said. “This is a labor of love for them. They wanted to have a restaurant that exemplifies the community feel in the area and also to have a rooftop deck, which Brookfield doesn’t have at this point.”
The restaurant would be developed on a vacant, grassy parcel of land on Maple Avenue between the Citgo gas station and a construction company operating out of a former residence.
“It’s a site that was acquired by the village, I want to say almost 10 years ago. The village had it for a while. It’san undeveloped and underperforming area right there,” Popovic said. “We’ve been actively going to developers and commercial agents to try and solicit any who are interested in doing a development or redevelopment project that fits within the TIF [tax-increment financing] district and within the parameters of what our comprehensive plan says.”
According to documents from Brookfield’s planning and zoning commission, which recommended approving the proposal on March 26, Mills and Farnan are seeking variations related to signage, driveway setbacks and width, and parking spots, requesting to have only 30 instead of the 59 determined necessary by village code. They could find “no feasible site plan” for a restaurant that would fit that many parking spots.
Popovic said she and other members of the community development department met with Mills and Farnan after they approached the village with a conceptual plan, and together they decided the restaurant would be a good fit for the village.
“They’re very motivated to move as quickly as possible,” she said. “When we initially talked to them, they were hoping that they’d be in the building phase right now.
“The plan seems to fit squarely within the comprehensive plan. We need another restaurant there. There is nothing of that type that’s in the area. It’s something unique. It’s something that benefits the village. It brings in sales tax,” she added. “It checked all the boxes.”
