New restaurant, indoor golf center announced for Algonquin Commons

After a quarter of retail space sat vacant in the Algonquin Commons, the shopping center is positioning itself to become a place people throughout the suburbs come to not just for shopping, but also dining and entertainment options.

With the announcement Tuesday of new stores getting approved for leasing permits in the shopping center, Community Development Director Jason Shallcross said he is excited to see how the shopping center develops beyond the new businesses into a place people come for entertainment.

“It’s going to be an indoor-outdoor entertainment experience that will completely remake the site into an all-in-one entertainment, retail and dining destination,” Shallcross said in an interview Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Algonquin officials announced Ashley Furniture, Barnes & Noble, Tap House Grill and X-Golf had been granted permits to lease retail space inside the shopping center.

Shallcross said X-Golf is targeting a Nov. 1 opening date and Tap House Grill will move in where the former Houlihan’s restaurant used to be along Randall Road.

The new businesses help decrease the Commons’ vacancy rate to 12% from 25% since the spring when California-based Red Mountain Group became the property’s new developers. Algonquin’s overall vacancy rate drops to 7.7% with the additions following a 10-year high in 2019.

Red Mountain Group is also pursuing additional projects in the Commons as part of a $30 million investment to make it into a place people come for events.

“They are working very hard to rebrand the center, and I’m excited to see what they come up with establishing that brand that’s ‘hey, you know, let’s hang out here,’” Shallcross said.

Red Mountain Group focuses on rebuilding and rebranding shopping centers that have higher rates of vacancies.

In June, Susan Rounds, vice president of marketing for Red Mountain Group, told the Northwest Herald that it was coming up with concepts to create an outdoor entertainment and gathering space, which would be located on the south end of the Commons. The plan includes outdoor movie nights, a place to watch sports on TV, dining options, holiday events and community events.

“We feel like that’s really going to be a huge draw for the center, not only locally but also regionally,” Shallcross said at the time.

Shallcross said the best comparison in the Chicago-area for what they are trying to achieve with the Commons is Rosemont, which has Parkway Bank Park, a green space in the center of the city’s entertainment district, just outside the doors of stores and restaurants. The park hosts events throughout the year, including summer concerts and festivals, and ice skating throughout the winter.

Shallcross said the Commons will “not be your traditional retail space” following this project and the goal of Red Mountain Group’s entertainment space is to make it a “regional destination” such as Rosemont or malls in Schaumburg and Oakbrook Terrace.

With Barnes & Noble to open Oct. 6 after moving from its current West Dundee location and other businesses to follow throughout the fall, the shopping center could quickly become a holiday destination, village officials hope.

Ashley Furniture also is targeting an opening date around the holidays, which Shallcross said makes Black Friday a possibility for them.

X-Golf also is targeting Nov. 1 in hopes of maximizing their customer potential, Shallcross said. X-Golf is an indoor golf simulator with virtual leagues that begin on Nov. 1, which makes that date an important goal for getting new people into the business.

Shallcross said X-Golf will occupy about 7,000 square feet of retail space, which is about the size of three restaurants.

As for the outdoor entertainment space, Red Mountain Group is targeting the end of next summer for opening.

“We are open for business and welcome anyone that would expand our retail, dining and entertainment options to call Algonquin home,” Shallcross said in a news release.