Mundelein will welcome a new Starbucks into town by next year.
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Village trustees approved a series of variations at the June 28 Village Board meeting that will help allow a new Starbucks to set up in Hawley Lake Plaza near the middle of town.
Officials said at a previous meeting they expect the restaurant to open by May 2022, which is part of the developer’s lease requirement with Starbucks.
The process to get the restaurant approved to open at this location has been a drawn out one, with the plan having been in the works for more than two years Officials said negotiations between the developer, Lake Hawley Mundelein LLC, and the coffee chain took up much of the time.
Before they can set up shop though, the developer needed variation requests approved, including permission for Starbucks to operate a drive-through.
Another special use request involved separating a land parcel from the shopping center. Tied to this request are easements the requestors claimed would make it easier for customers to get to the coffee shop and prevent issues with traffic in the shopping center area.
Once completed, the location will be the second free-standing Starbucks in Mundelein, with the first one being on the far northwest part of town in the Mundelein Crossing shopping area near the intersection of Route 60 and Route 83. There are also two indoor Starbucks in town, one in Target —also in Mundelein Crossing — and another in Jewel-Osco grocery store at Townline Square.
Hawley Lake Plaza is currently home to four restaurants, a nail salon and a liquor store, with four vacancies..
In May, the village Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of the developer’s requests related to Starbucks. The Village Board gave the final go ahead at the Monday meeting.
“This project’s been discussed for many years,” said Mayor Steve Lentz. “This is wonderful. I think Starbucks will be a great addition to our downtown.”