Petitioner for Huntley’s Panera Bread franchise to present final plans before the Village Board

HUNTLEY—Hamra Enterprises, the petitioner that has been behind Huntley’s Panera Bread franchise, had previously gone before the Village Board on May 12 to get feedback on conceptual plans for the construction of the 3,480-square-foot restaurant.

As previously reported in My Huntley News, Huntley’s Panera Bread restaurant will be located on Outlot 5 of the Huntley Grove Commercial Subdivision located at the southeast corner of Route 47 and Kreutzer Road.

According to the July 14 Village Board meeting agenda, trustees can expect to hear from a new petitioner named Chicago Bread, LLC, with Hamra Gateway, LLC now classified as the owner of the establishment.

The final Planned Unit Development (PUD) plans that will be presented to trustees at the upcoming board meeting are identical to the conceptual plans Hamra presented back in May.

Despite Trustee Harry Leopold asking the petitioner during the conceptual review to dedicate at least four “delivery/pick-up” parking spots on the premises, final plans for Huntley’s Panera Bread indicate that only three parking spaces have been reserved for that purpose and will be located on the west side of the building.

However, the petitioners have noted that if three delivery/pick-up parking spaces are not enough, then there is a potential to add more if needed.

Additionally, the petitioners took into account most of Leopold’s other recommendations that were made at the conceptual review in their final plans, such as making changes to the building’s roofline and adding a brick base to the south and east elevations and signage on the south elevation to accommodate the lack of “visual appeal” in those areas.

On June 27, the Huntley Plan Commission conducted a public hearing discussing plans for the Panera Bread restaurant. Seeing as no members of the public offered any testimony in favor or in opposition of the plans, the commission ultimately approved the petition to move the plans forward to the Village Board by a vote of six to zero.

At a later date, the petitioners hope to also construct a 1,890 square foot standalone retail building near the Panera Bread restaurant, though plans for that building have not been submitted and will require separate approval from the board.

A Hamra representative had told trustees that once the final PUD plans are approved, they hope to have Huntley’s Panera Bread restaurant constructed and opened for business by the end of this year.