Burger Joint, Massage Spa Get OK From Village Board

A few more empty storefronts will be occupied by the end of the year after the cleared the way for three businesses to open in the village.

The board unanimously approved special use permits for three businesses at its Monday, June 18, board meeting: Meatheads Burger & Fries, a state chain of gourmet hamburgers; Massage Envy, a national chain of spas; and Roma Sports Club, an indoor baseball and soccer facility. Meatheads and Massage Envy will moving in to spaces in the Prairie Crossings Shopping Center along Lincoln Highway, and Roma Sports Club will occupy a site in the industrial park area of Gulfstream Road. The board's approval comes after last week's unanimous recommendation from the Frankfort Plan Commission.

READ:

Here's some background on the businesses and what they plan to bring to the Frankfort community.

Meatheads: In an interview last week, Joe Sanders, the marketing manager for the burger chain, described the restaurant as being a destination-style establishment that emphasizes fresh, high-quality ingredients for its menu items.

"The only thing frozen is the ice cream we use for the shakes," Sanders said.

Meatheads, which began in Bloomington and has its headquarters in Chicago, has seven locations throughout the state and looks to have five more opening by the end of the year, Sanders said. The new restaurant at 11143 W. Lincoln Hwy. will have indoor seating for 68 customers and 24 outdoor seats, said Trustee Mike Stevens at Monday's meeting.

Opening a location in Frankfort was part of the chain's plan to serve the South Suburbs, Sanders said. And the main attraction of the village was that it's a family-centric community, something that is important's to the company's business mission, he added.

"We like to put ourselves in family-oriented communities and support that [with our restaurants]," he said.

The new Meatheads location should be open by the fall, Sanders said.

Massage Envy: Jason Markowicz, one of the owners of the new franchise location that will open at 11057 and 11061 W. Lincoln Hwy., has a history with health and fitness centers as well as the Lincoln-Way area. Markowicz and his partner have run the Fitness-Premier health clubs in Bourbonnais and Manteeno for the past 15 years, and he hails from the New Lenox area, which was a reason why Frankfort was an attractive location.

READ:

"We love the Lincoln-Way area," Markowicz said in a phone interview last week. "We have a pretty good understanding of the market."

As a chain, Massage Envy has 765 locations in 42 states with 26 spas in the Chicago area, including one in Tinley Park. The Frankfort location will provide total wellness massage therapy treatments, as well as skin facials, Markowicz said, and all of its massage therapists will be fully licensed. The new spa will employ abot 30 to 35 people, he added.

Markowicz said the location should be open by October, and the spa will offer pre-grand opening membership incentives.

Roma Sports Club: This new indoor sports facility at 9325 Gulfstream Road will provide a training area for baseball, softball and indoor soccer teams in the area. The facility will have batting cages and an indoor field, but it can't be used for games under the special use permit that was approved.

READ:

The club's owner, Steven J. Rotondi, also will be creating a soccer club, Roma Futbol Club, with teams for 8-year-olds and younger, 11-year-olds and younger and over 30 years old, according to the club's website. Although the soccer club is in its beginning stages, the teams are expected to be put together by the fall, the website stated. Rotondi has played and coached soccer for more than 25 years, and his father, Joseph Rotondi, played pro soccer in the early 1970s and will be on the coaching staff.

Have a Favorite Business in Frankfort? Nominate it for Patch's Readers' Choice Awards. Here are Some of the Categories: