The Dome Restaurant is demolished
Indian Head Park to consider development at busy corner
By Steve Metsch
The Dome Restaurant, a landmark at the corner of Joliet and Wolf roads in Indian Head Park, was demolished this week and the village is looking for development ideas.
“It’s been abandoned about three years. The owner, Nick Reveliotis, pays $10,000 a year in property taxes, and those will be less after demolition,” Village Administrator John DuRocher said in an interview at the village hall.
Right now, the village has no plan for the site once The Dome comes down, but would be interested in another restaurant there, he said. Renovation of the current building would have been be too costly, DuRocher said.
“We did an inspection. It needs to come down. It’s in bad shape,” he said.
Reveliotis, who visited the site after demolition began Halloween morning, said he hopes to sell or lease the property.
Demolition is part of a bigger plan for Indian Head Park Plaza, which is part of what the village call The Triangle, bordered by Wolf Road, Joliet Road and the tollway.
A former lumberyard near the tollway is long gone, three houses along Wolf Road have been torn down, and several viable businesses are now in the plaza. There’s room for more, he said.
“We’re looking at bringing in a consultant to walk us through the process, to encourage development, and what’s the best way for the municipality to be involved,” DuRocher said.
Indian Head Park, population 3,809, doesn’t have the money or the interest needed to buy the plaza, but does want to spruce it up, DuRocher said. A facade improvement is one option.
With some space now available, he’d like see more commercial development in The Triangle, property.
“It’s the gateway to our community,” he said.
With The Domedown, DuRocher is interested in seeing a family restaurant there. Several merchants in the plaza agreed.
Ari Rukovci, whose family owns the Oak Pantry & Deli across the parking lot from The Dome, said “a breakfast and lunch restaurant would be good for the neighborhood.”
A few doors down at Old Fashioned Candies, manager Lorie Nicezyporuk prefers a fast-food restaurant.
“If you think about it, where is there something like that around here? There is not. You’ve got to go all the way to La Grange Road. People ask me for recommendations all the time. There’s no fast food (restaurants) between Route 83 and La Grange Road,” she said.
She does think the plaza needs sprucing up, and possibly better signage for businesses.
Wolf’s Head Inn owner Steve Bartmann – no relation to the infamous Cubs fan – said during a busy lunch hour that The Dome site “is a really good corner” for a restaurant.
That said, Bartmann is not sure there’s enough room for a fast-food chain to build there.
“If you put a Dunkin Donuts or a Starbuck’s in there, they’d need a drive-thru lane and it’s a small space,” Bartmann said.
Desplaines Valley News
Email Steve Metsch at sm4610@sbcglobal.net
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