Siting question for professionals

Hi,

How would professionals suggest trying to attract a restaurant to a community? The location is an old (1920's) bank building located at a busy intersection in the near western suburbs.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

PS. Moderators, if this is inappropriate, I apologize in advance, and please remove.

Brian,

I see you have not received a response to your query. That may be because it's stated rather generally. Perhaps you'd like to rephrase or add more detail?

I'll be honest, I have no sense of how to respond to the challenge of attracting a restaurant any where -- though I'd love to see a local neighborhood develop more...especially if it means more good places to eat near my home.

Just a thought,

David

if you're the owner/landlord/contractor, there are numerous things you can do w/the lease rental terms or build out to make it more attractive to a prospective tenant. value and opportunity are very significant when considering a project, although so is location. being proactive with the type of establishment you are seeking, and then offering any of the above, like a build to suit with good terms could help your cause considerably.

if you're a resident, i'm afraid that there's really not much that i'm aware of.

in the long-run, you need to make the area attractive to prospective restaurant-owners.

theaters, shops, galleries, concert venues, and other destinations will bring the traffic needed to support a restaurant. when an area has enough demand for restaurants to support them, restaurants will spring up.

in the short-run, and specific to this particular location, the owner of the building can offer all sorts of incentives--rent tied to profit or gross, help with construction/buildout costs, utilities included for all or part of the lease, etc, etc.

in addition, local governments can offer tax incentives, special financing arrangements, help with loans, give deals in association with municipal services such as permits, trash removal, licenses.

there are lots of ways to make it happen. the bottom line of all of them is money. make it worth someone's while and they'll most likely take a chance on it.

elakin wrote:in the long-run, you need to make the area attractive to prospective restaurant-owners.

theaters, shops, galleries, concert venues, and other destinations will bring the traffic needed to support a restaurant. when an area has enough demand for restaurants to support them, restaurants will spring up.

It has also worked in reverse. From what I understand, the restaurant Printer's Row (almost) singlehandedly turned around the area now known as Printer's Row.

jerry kleiner has helped influence the same on s wabash and w randolph. but the city is one thing, western burbs are another.