‘Main Street is hurting’: Wauconda authorizes acquisition of long-vacant restaurant space downtown

Wanting to prevent continued economic malaise in the downtown business area, Wauconda officials have authorized the acquisition — one way or another — of the former Bulldogs restaurant.

The village board this week gave Village Administrator Allison Matson authority to pursue the prominent property either through a negotiated purchase or by condemnation if necessary.

However, Matson said condemning the property is a last resort.

“We want to see it open more than anything,” she said of the building at 122 S. Main St., in the village’s central downtown business area. “We’d like to see a restaurant in there.”

Bulldogs, a quirky favorite for 12 years at the corner of Main and East Mill streets, was “beat up” by COVID, business co-owner Aaron Aggarwal said just before it closed for good July 31, 2022.

Bulldogs was the last in a series of restaurants that have operated in the building almost continuously for generations dating to the 1970s and perhaps earlier.

According to the village, Bulldogs has “no apparent prospect of reopening” and offers of economic incentives to do so as well as a specific lead for a business interested in leasing the property have gone unanswered.

Residents in a 2023 survey cited economic development and filling Main Street vacancies as priorities, Matson said. Business owners say foot traffic has decreased considerably in recent years, she added.

As an extension of that survey, promoting new economic development and nurturing existing businesses are among the goals of the village’s 2024-2028 strategic plan.

“Business is not where it was three years ago,” said Kelly Lincoln, owner of Daddyo’s Framing Music Memorabilia, across from Bulldogs at 121 S. Main St. “It was booming. It was the anchor of the street.”

Lincoln said he is a fourth-generation resident and remembers going to what in the 1970s was Randy’s restaurant every Saturday with his grandmother and her sisters. He’s operated Daddyo’s for about two decades, with the last 11 years at his current location.

“Main Street is hurting right now. We’ve got empty buildings,” Lincoln said.

The village wants to acquire the property to forestall blighting, reinvigorate its economic potential and prevent an economic malaise from continuing.

Last summer, the village sold the original village hall at 100 N. Main St. to investors for $157,000. Interior renovation has been completed but no new business has been announced.

Creating a special redevelopment area, known as a tax increment financing district, to spark investment along Main Street north of Route 176 also is under consideration. A public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at village hall, 101 N. Main St.

“We’re doing what we can to support Main Street,” Matson said.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250417/business/main-street-is-hurting-wauconda-authorizes-acquisition-of-long-vacant-restaurant-space-downtown/