Dairy Queen Coming to Yorkville

Dairy Queen Grill and Chill is expected to be built in Yorkville by Feb. 28, according to a $30,740 sales tax rebate pact aldermen approved last week.

Aniri LLC is expected to build a 2,187-square-foot restaurant at 704 E. Veterans Parkway that could employ 38 full-time employees and 35 part-time employees, according to a draft of the agreement presented last week. The corporation will receive a 0.5 percent sales tax rebate over 10 years or up to $30,740, whichever comes first, according to the draft agreement.

Yorkville aldermen unanimously approve the pact Tuesday.

Aniri LLC had been exploring building the restaurant in Kendall Marketplace, the shopping center that houses Target, but the developer abandoned those plans because of Kendall Marketplace's special service area (an extra property tax) and the property being in receivership, City Administrator Bart Olson said. The sales tax rebate helps the developer cover the costs of building design and engineering plans associated with the earlier location.

"The City Council has had a history of giving incentive agreements to developers for reimbursement of infrastructure installation and for simple business recruitment," Olson wrote in a memo to City Council member.

"In many cases over the past few years, the City Council has been proactive in providing incentives to developers for simply choosing to build in Yorkville," Olson continued. "This has benefited us directly by providing us with sales taxes that we previously did not have. In the case of Kendall Marketplace, this incentive saved the City budget by replacing the lost sales tax revenue from the closure of ProBuild."

City staff expect to issue an occupancy permit for the new restaurant in December or January, Olson said. The Dairy Queen's anticipated address, 704 E. Veterans Parkway, is near Blackstone Bar & Grill, which sits at 600 E. Veterans Parkway.