Future Holiday Inn Express Hotel build-out progressing
Significant progress is being made on the remodeling work at the future Holiday Inn Express Hotel at 1140 Lake St. in the DTOP business district. Work has now moved to the annex portion of the hotel building as construction continues on the rooms and suites. Work on the hotel lobby, which will be located on the second floor of the building, will follow. The hotel’s completion is expected before the end of the year.
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Breakfast House completes restaurant remodel and opens
The Jara Family, owners of the Breakfast House chain of restaurants, have completed their renovations at 138 N. Marion St. and have opened their Oak Park location. The Village issued Breakfast House its business license and certificate of occupancy on May 14. The business, after previously obtaining its Oak Park liquor license, will now be submitting for its required State liquor license. Breakfast House joins Publican, Kyuramen and FARE as the latest in a group of successful small restaurant chains that started in Chicago before building their first location outside of the city here in Oak Park.
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The Wolf Boba Tea & Coffee is open on Oak Park Avenue
September 2024’s POP Report scoop is now open! The Village has approved the business license for The Wolf Boba Tea & Coffee restaurant and it opened this week. Located in the Hemingway Business District at 134 N. Oak Park Ave., the owners of The Wolf invite Oak Park residents to stop in and see the complete renovation of this important space. The Wolf is offering delicious boba teas, specialty coffees, snacks and sandwiches. Pictured is owner Phu Tran (l) and Village representative Cameron Davis (r), on the business's first day of operation. The Wolf prides itself in delivering high-quality products to all guests by using ingredients imported from Taiwan, where boba tea originated. The Village welcomes The Wolf to our Oak Park business community.
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2025’s new business license numbers match last year’s excellent performance
Over the past four years, the Village has issued 100+ new business licenses each year. Thus far in 2025, business license issuance is on-par with 2024 numbers. In addition, business license cancellations for 2025 are 53% lower than the number of business license cancellations that occurred by this same time in 2024. As always, a full list of new businesses licenses can be found at www.pickoakpark.com/newbusiness.
Maraquya opens on Roosevelt Road
Maraquya is a new retail business at 6810 Roosevelt Rd. This business is owned by Jairo and Rachel Bastidas and is located just east of Dunkin’ and west of PHS Lock Smiths. Maraquya focuses on selling wonderful products from Columbia, including clothing, accessories, leather bags and souvenirs. The Village welcomes the Bastidas family to the Oak Park business community and wishes them great success!
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Another amazing new restaurant planned for Marion Street
The same restaurant ownership group as Kyurmen, 118 N. Marion St., and the soon-to-open Gyumon Japanese BBQ, 105 N. Marion St., has signed a lease for a third location at 113 N. Marion St., the former Lou’s Peking House, in the DTOP business district. Village staff has been working with the building owner's commercial broker, SVN | Chicago Commercial, for over a year in an effort to fill this important space. Staff can now report that the restaurant ownership intends to bring another innovative concept to this location and has already begun emptying the space in preparation for future renovations. No opening date has yet been set, but go ahead, start getting hungry!
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Public Works partners with Arts District on wayfinding signage
The Village’s Public Works Department recently assisted the Oak Park Arts District with updating three informational wayfinding signs on Harrison Street. The signs were initially installed several years ago and were beginning to show their age, so Arts District officials worked with Public Works staff to update the signs ahead of the What’s Blooming on Harrison street festival on May 31. Pictured are Mimi Comerford, Vice President of the Oak Park Arts District Business Association, and Streets Division Equipment Operator Taras Horalewskyj, alongside one of the recently refurbished signs.
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Grant program for restaurant and food-focused businesses
A new restaurant and food-focused business grant program embraces the use of PFAS-free takeout containers. The Smart Energy Design Assistance Center at the University of Illinois, in partnership with other entities, is offering an exciting grant opportunity to small restaurants and food-focused businesses in the hope of reducing exposure to PFAS for customers and employees. PFAS, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are harmful chemicals sometimes found in the coatings of single-use foodware. These chemicals, which leach into foods and beverages, can lead to serious health risks. This fully-funded grant program aims to provide businesses with a no-cost foodware assessment, access to safer substitution options, up to $300 of complementary PFAS-free foodware products for testing, information on composting food waste, and recognition of the business's sustainability efforts. For more information, click here.
Update regarding recent Plan Commission recommendation
The Village’s Plan Commission met recently to discuss a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. The Village of Oak Park, as the applicant, was seeking consideration of amendments to Article 8 (“Uses”) of the Village of Oak Park Zoning Ordinance. The Village requested that the Commission consider whether to amend the Zoning Ordinance to allow a “Place of Worship - Dual Use” as a special use in all zoning districts, except the OS – Open Space District, and H – Hospital District, and setting forth the following special use standards and regulations for “Places of Worship – Dual Use”: a. The sanctuary or the area of worship must continue to be used by the congregation; b. No additions shall be allowed to expand any proposed residential or office use; c. Provided the remaining sanctuary or area of worship is abandoned, the property shall become subject to the Adaptive Reuse provisions of the Ordinance. The proposed amendments received a 6-0 vote to send a positive recommendation to the Village Board, which will consider the recommendation at a meeting in June.
Welcome H&R Block to North Avenue
The Village welcomes H&R Block, which relocated from Elmwood Park to 6429 North Ave., Suite 106. Thank you for joining the vibrant and ever-growing Oak Park business community.
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The ongoing benefits of securing commercial building permits
The Village’s Permit & Development Division reminds Oak Park business owners of the benefits of getting a required building permit. Having a permit is a great way to protect the investment of your construction or remodeling project, ensure the safety of those occupying your business and avoid costly repairs in the future. The process to apply for a building permit is made simple with the Village’s online portal.
Examples of some commercial projects that require permits are:
- New buildings
- Additions or renovations
- Replacing or expanding electrical systems
- Improving or replacing plumbing systems
- HVAC work
If you aren’t sure if your project requires a building permit, you can reach out to the Permit & Development Division at permits@oak-park.us for assistance.
Update on public parking garage use
During the first three months of 2025, a total of 202,121 daily parkers utilized either the Lake and Forest, Holley Court or The Avenue public parking garages. During the past several years, utilization of the Village’s public parking garages has been on a slow recovery from the dramatic reduction in daily use that occurred during the COVID-19 emergency. During the first quarter of the year, the combined number of daily parkers in the three parking garages increased 3.4% as compared to the same time period in 2024. Overall, the largest decrease in daily parkers this year occurred at The Avenue garage, which has seen a 1.8% dip. In addition, the Lake and Forest garage has experienced a decrease of 1.3% compared to the same period in 2024. The Holley Court garage has experienced a 6.7% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024. The number of daily parkers at the combined garages through the first quarter of 2025 is still 28% lower than daily parking totals for the same time period in 2019, which marked the high point of public parking garage utilization prior to the pandemic.
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Commercial Façade Improvement Grant Program (C-FIP) continues making a difference
The Village’s successful Commercial Façade Improvement Grant Program (C-FIP) has helped to reinvigorate 36 commercial facades since the program started in 2019. In 2024 alone, nine improvement projects were funded with almost $60,000 in Village grants provided to Oak Park business or business property owners. The C-FIP program assists with improvements like new signage, awnings, lighting, windows, doors, tuckpointing, etc. For more information about any of the Village’s business assistance grant programs, contact Noemy Diaz at business@oak-park.us.
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