Village trustees hammer down on petitioner for Huntley’s Panera Bread franchise

HUNTLEY — At the May 12 Village Board meeting, a representative for Hamra Enterprises—the petitioner responsible for the long-awaited Panera Bread franchise—came before the board to answer questions and listen to suggestions for changes from trustees on the presented conceptual site plans.

Although no action was required to be taken by the trustees at the May 12 meeting, trustees were not shy about expressing their honest opinions and in some cases, frustration regarding the restaurant.

Following a presentation of the conceptual plans, Trustee Harry Leopold was the first speaker on the floor, stating that he’s been waiting to hear about plans for the Panera restaurant since 2013.

“I was here in 2013 when you first came. It’s been a long time. I was also here in 2016 when you presented your first plans for a [multi-tenant] building and people were very excited to hear Panera was coming and the sign kept changing, kept changing, and then finally, [they] took the date off of it,” Leopold told the Hamra representative.

Leopold added that he is “getting sick of it” when expressing how often he gets “hammered on” by residents asking about the restaurant.

As for his comments on the site plans, Leopold stated that he hopes that Huntley’s Panera has more than just four pickup order parking spots because he feels that four spaces aren’t enough.

He also explained that he didn’t like the appearance of the roofline depicted in the plans, while expressing that he would like to see shutters or a frame placed around the advertising panels on the wall.

Lastly, Leopold told the petitioner that he would like to see something added to cover the blank wall spaces on the east and south elevations.

Although he didn’t specify what he wanted to see there, Leopold told the petitioner that he expects to see something new in a future presentation.

Trustee Curt Kittle asked the petitioner about the timeline for the additional 1,890 square foot standalone retail building that is proposed to be constructed at a later date.

The Hamra representative could not give a definitive timeframe for construction on that second building, however, he did assure trustees that the area would be maintained for the time being.

“I’m trying to figure out why you still want to build that second building. Last time it was going to be attached. This time it’s detached. I don’t understand it,” said Trustee Ronda Goldman, while also asking if all Panera restaurants have an additional building next to them.

The petitioner told the trustees that “quite a few” of their Chicagoland Panera Bread locations have a second building attached to them and that any type of business can be located in that adjacent building.

Goldman asked when Hamra Enterprises anticipates breaking ground because the village is ready for them to begin construction.

“That will end all the jokes that have been going on for years,” she said.

The Hamra representative reiterated that the petitioner wants to have the restaurant opened for business by the end of this year, although he could not say when construction would begin.

“As Trustee Leopold has mentioned, we’ve all been beat up that you haven’t been here for [a while]. I’ve been here since 2013. The memes that are on social media, you actually have a hashtag, ‘Built before Panera,’” Trustee JR Westberg told the petitioner.

He added that he won’t believe anything regarding Panera until a shovel goes into the ground. “It’s comical that you’re here. I shook my head. I’m like, ‘I don’t even know if they’re going to do it.’ So, good luck if you do,” Westberg said.

Trustee Mary Holzkopf was the last of the trustees to speak, with her only questions being in regards to the indoor seating capacity and the square footage compared to other Panera restaurants.

The petitioner responded that the Huntley area Panera restaurant will be comparable in size and appearance to their Gurnee Panera Bread location, with the expected indoor seating capacity being able to accommodate 60 people.

“Thank you for coming forward. I’ll be honest with you; I’ve been on the board since 2015. I was on the planning zoning since 2011 and so I’ve been in every step of the process from planning zoning to being on the board to where we are today and it’s the number one question we get is when is Panera coming? Are they going away? What’s happening? It’s been frustrating, but I’m glad we’ve got something solid,” said Mayor Tim Hoeft.

The representative for Hamra Enterprises apologized for all of the delays and expressed that he will relay the feedback from the village to expedite the process as much as possible.

“Like I said, welcome to Huntley as always. We’re glad to have you again or still. I don’t know what the right word is but I think it needs to be a little different based on our comments and work with staff. Get it through the process and I’d be glad to have you open by the end of the year,” added Hoeft.