Cooper's Hawk, Pete's Fresh Market Coming To New Lenox

NEW LENOX, IL - If you see New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann smiling a whole lot more over the coming weeks, it's because his village has landed two huge catches that are sure to make New Lenox residents extremely happy. Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants and Pete's Fresh Market plan to open new locations in the growing Will County community of New Lenox. Monday's upcoming agenda for the New Lenox Village Board asks elected officials to approve a purchase contract with Cooper's Hawk.

The public meeting begins at 7 p.m. inside New Lenox Village Hall, 1 Veterans Parkway.

"This is one of those developments ... Pete's Fresh Market and Cooper's Hawk, that people have been asking for a long time," Baldermann told Patch during a Friday afternoon interview. "We've had a lot of interest from New Lenox residents in both Pete's and Cooper's Hawk.

"We have a great community, and our residents are very supportive of local businesses," Baldermann said, noting that several residents even took the initiative to contact both Pete's and Cooper's Hawk, urging the popular Chicago-area businesses to establish roots in New Lenox as their next business expansion.

Baldermann told Patch that Pete's and Cooper's Hawk plan to open their new businesses on a 9.5-acre parcel just east of Schoolhouse Road, near Lincoln-Way Central High School. The open land tract is along Route 30 across from the New Lenox Target store and the Lowe's shopping center, the mayor noted.

Under the development proposal, the village of New Lenox is expected to spend between $2.3 million and $2.5 million, Baldermann said. The costs are tied to the land acquisition and infrastructure improvements, he noted.

In time, the mayor envisions the addition of Pete's Fresh Market and the Cooper's Hawk restaurant will prove to be a great investment for New Lenox. The mayor anticipates the sales tax revenue that will be generated from the two popular businesses "will generate no less than $450,000 per year," he told Patch.

"It will take us ... five to six years to get our money back," Baldermann said, adding that the long-term benefits for New Lenox are huge.

"We're not only talking about temporary construction jobs but a couple of hundred permanent jobs. We're creating new jobs, new amenities, plus it will bring people in to shop at other businesses in our community," the mayor predicted.

The building for Pete's will encompass about 60,000 square feet. The future site of the Cooper's Hawk sit-down restaurant would encompass about 12,000 square feet of space. There is also another lot within the development that would occupy about 15,000 square feet. New Lenox hopes to attract another restaurant or retail development that would compliment Cooper's Hawk and Pete's, the mayor said.

"Our hope is that if everything goes well, Cooper's Hawk will open in the Fall of 2018 or spring of 2019 and Pete's is slated to open in the spring of 2020," Baldermann said Friday.

Besides New Lenox, Cooper's Hawk already has restaurants in several Illinois communities including Arlington Heights, Burr Ridge, Naperville, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Orland Park, South Barrington, Springfield, St. Charles and Wheeling.

Pete's Fresh Market's website lists several locations across Chicago plus stores in Calumet City, Evergreen Park, Oakbrook Terrace, Oak Park and Bridgeview.

Images of Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants and Pete's Fresh Market via Oak Park Patch, image of New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann via village