Pickleball facility, casual Greek restaurant and downtown redevelopment among highlights

New player plans indoor pickleball court at former Toys R Us in Vernon Hills

Interior of Ace Pickleball Club’s flagship facility in Roswell, Georgia. A franchise is expected to open this summer in the former Toys R Us building at the Townline Commons shopping center, 555 Townline Road in Vernon Hills.
Courtesy of Tran Bui Productions

After a lull, a new player emerged with plans to convert the former Toys R Us store in Vernon Hills into indoor pickleball courts. Village officials granted PickleMall a special use last September to operate in the former big box store, 555 Townline Road (Route 60), in the Townline Commons shopping center. But the plan did not move forward. Mitch Goltz, founder of building owner GW Properties, came back with a plan B, saying the Ace Pickleball Club proposal was essentially the same and only required a name change when previously approved.

“Tasty” is the translation for the new fast-casual Greek restaurant in Arlington Heights

The owner of the Chasers suburban sports bar chain plans to open a fast-casual Greek restaurant in Arlington Heights within the next two weeks. Peter Dalamangas, who also owns Rand Road House in Des Plaines and a string of gaming cafes, is bringing Nostimo — meaning “tasty” in Greek — to 286 W. Rand Road.

West Dundee buys two downtown buildings

West Dundee trustees approved the purchase of two buildings in the downtown district for $470,000. The village plans to close the buildings at 108 and 110 W. Main St., most recently home to Bob’s Trading Post and Riverside Upholstery, within the next 30 to 45 days.

Lake Zurich finalizes deal to sell and renovate building visible from downtown corner

Developer True North Properties Inc. will purchase and invest at least $1.5 million to improve a prominent village-owned building at Main Street and Old Rand Road in downtown Lake Zurich. The village council on Monday unanimously approved a redevelopment agreement with the Wauconda-based company to purchase the northeast corner building for $200,000 and make interior and exterior improvements within two years of closing on the property real estate.

Aldi to open 800 of its U.S. discount stores as Americans feel high food prices

Aldi plans to open 800 of its discount grocery stores across the United States as part of a five-year expansion plan to take advantage of cost-conscious Americans feeling the pain of grocery stores.

Small Elgin printing company creates most of Kane County’s candidate signs

In a secluded spot called Awesome Campaigns Inc., off Highway 25 on the edge of Elgin, signs of times past and present cover the walls. Truck-sized screen printers rumble and puff in the background while a bouquet of ink fills the air. About 100 buckets of ink are stacked in a room on the way to the print shop, in the back.