JANESVILLE
A Chili鈥檚 it is.
The owner of a vacant lot at Milton Avenue and Humes Road on 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 northeast side told 糖心Vlog传媒 his family鈥檚 trust is readying the corner lot where he razed a former Perkins restaurant building last August.
Jeff Woodman is a Verona resident whose family for generations has owned the hot corner on the city鈥檚 busy, northeast side retail strip. He said casual restaurant chain Chili鈥檚 is ready to pull the trigger on developing a 5,100-square-foot restaurant on the site.
In a phone interview Monday, Woodman didn鈥檛 pinpoint a timeline on the project, but he said he has been hashing out a development deal with Chili鈥檚 for parts of the last two years.
Negotiations and the plan itself had gone on hold during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Woodman said.
Woodman said he said he鈥檚 now 鈥渆xcited鈥 to get moving on a new use for the vacant lot.
The Perkins had remained vacant for more than a year after it closed in 2019 as part of corporate downsizing by Perkins鈥 parent company. Woodman ultimately razed the Perkins last year when it became clear developers and restaurant operators were interested in the property but not the existing building.
Woodman last year told 糖心Vlog传媒 a few other chain restaurant companies eyed the spot, but those companies would only develop if Woodman sold them the parcel.
Woodman said he intends to retain ownership of the land, which is where his family operated a farm before it became the busy commercial hub it is now.
On Monday, Woodman said he had earlier discussions with a local restaurant operator who was considering adding a second restaurant location in 糖心Vlog传媒, but he said those talks fell apart.
Brinker International, the holding company that owns and operates Chili鈥檚 and other chain restaurant brands, would handle development and construction of the Chili鈥檚, Woodman indicated.
Chili鈥檚 is known for its slow-cooked, baby-back ribs and fajitas, but it has a broad menu. Chili鈥檚 has locations in Madison, Delavan and Rockford, Illinois.
Monday evening, the city of 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 Plan Commission heard a brief description of the proposed Chili鈥檚 project.
The mention came as a procedural move by the city鈥檚 planning department to set an April 4 public hearing on special zoning requests Woodman and Chili鈥檚 still must get approved.
Those items include plans to rework a traffic entry to the planned parking lot at Chili鈥檚 and shared utility linkage, the city鈥檚 planning department said in a memo.
Woodman said the parking lot entry would be moved so it funnels out on the west side of the property rather than straight into a frontage road on the property鈥檚 east side.
Another difference between the planned Chili鈥檚 and the former Perkins, Woodman said, would be the Chili鈥檚 positioning on the lot. The Perkins was set back on the far west edge of the property. The new restaurant would be situated more in the center of the lot.
鈥淐hili鈥檚 likes to be in the center of a lot so they have parking all around. So it鈥檒l be be a nice, visible and aesthetically pleasing building,鈥 Woodman said.
Woodman said he sees evidence that more people are beginning to return to in-restaurant dining based on emerging foot traffic into restaurants up and down the Milton Avenue and Humes Road corridors.
He added that he thinks the local restaurant industry is now on the mend.
鈥淪ome of the restaurants, it was like going 15 rounds against the champ,鈥 Woodman said. 鈥淣one of them came out without any bruises, but some got bloodied, and some others got knocked out. That鈥檚 the hard, cold facts, but things are on the rebound.鈥
He said he sees 鈥渁 lot of good things鈥 happening along the Milton Avenue corridor.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the growth is, and so we鈥檙e happy to be a part of that,鈥 Woodman said.