Fox's Restaurant Seeks Village Approval for New Hinsdale Location

Fox's is planning to open a new location in Hinsdale's Gateway Square but needs to first get through the village's permit and site plan approval process.  

After getting the approval of the Plan Commission on May 9, the Zoning and Public Safety (ZPS) Committee on Monday night forwarded a special use permit application and a site plan with exterior improvements at 777 N. York Rd. to the Board of Trustees without a recommendation, meaning the trustees will discuss the items at their June 19 meeting.

Fox's first opened in Beverly in 1963 and now operates additional locations in Mokena, Oak Lawn, Orland Park and Plainfield. All the locations are owned by Frank Fox and/or Tom Fox Jr. 

"It's a full service family restaurant," Frank Fox said.

Fox said he has been looking to open a Hinsdale location for several years due to the village's large number of transplanted South Siders.

"When I saw [the Gateway Square location], I felt like it fit like a glove," Fox said. "It felt really good and I wanted to make it happen."

(Sign up for Patch’s email newsletter and get all the top Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills headlines in your inbox each morning. And then like us on Facebook!)

Fox's menu includes everything from Italian beef and Reuben sandwiches, to spaghetti, to pork chops, to fish. The chain's signature dish, though, is its pizza.

"Only thin crust," Fox told the Plan Commission.

Fox's would be located on the north side of Gateway Square along York Road, where Quizno's and a former hair salon once stood. The restaurant would have two levels: the kitchen and a 40-seat dining area would take up the first floor, while a 60-person dining area would reside on the second floor.

Fox's also plans on utilizing a pre-existing patio on the second floor for an additional 30-40 seats during warm-weather months.

The special use permit is needed so that Fox's can host live entertainment as it currently does it its Orland Park and Oak Lawn locations. Fox told the Plan Commission that the entertainment would take place between 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. and would be mostly individual performers, not bands. 

Fox's original plan was to have pick-up parking in the corridor that runs along the north side of Gateway Square, but he said that will be probably be nixed due to traffic concerns of nearby residents.