The Normal Planning Commission on Thursday approved a development plan at the former site of the Logan’s Roadhouse restaurant off Veterans Parkway.
Developer Tom Jednorowicz wants to convert the site into a multi-tenant building with three spaces and a drive-thru for one tenant. Jednorowicz said negotiations are ongoing with multiple interested parties.
Jednorowicz currently co-owns Original Pancake House franchises in Normal, Peoria and Austin, Texas. He was the founder of Meatheads, but left the company in 2019; Meatheads has since closed operations after filing for bankruptcy in 2021.
“I think it would be our preference to have two tenants versus three tenants. But in the approach to this, because we had no tenants,” said Jednorowicz. “And doing some preliminary marketing, we kind of broke the space up in a configuration for uses that we felt were highest and best use and most probable use.”
The Chicago-based Tartan Realty Group is listed as the current owner of the property. Typically, it would not require approval from the Normal Planning Commission to approve such a move. Approval is needed, however, because of the addition of a planned drive-thru to the property. Additional accommodations for bike racks and changes to the parking lot due to the drive-thru’s presence also are in the plan.
“We've been doing projects and operating businesses in this market for a long time,” said Doug Reichl, president of Tartan Realty. “We've obviously found success in doing that here, and in particular on Veterans Parkway, so we never left.”
A third-party engineering firm conducted a study on the impact on traffic in the area, finding no off-site traffic changes would be required, the commission was told. The town was advised of the potential impact on drivers turning left from the northbound lane of Veterans, which could be solved with an altered signal timing if needed.
Editor’s note: As a matter of disclosure, WGLT executive director R.C. McBride chairs the Normal Planning Commission.