Work Halted On Clarendon Hills Restaurant

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Clarendon Hills last week issued a stop-work order to a long-awaited downtown coffee shop.

Sparrow Coffee reported that the order was listed as of 11:30 p.m. Monday.

The restaurant, which is receiving a village subsidy, was expected to be ready by late April.

Owner Chris Chacko is working to combine three previous units into one at 100 Park Ave.

On Friday, Village Manager Paul Dalen confirmed the order was posted after village staffers identified a safety concern and several maintenance issues at the site.

"The Village places a high priority on public safety, and Sparrow management agreed to work cooperatively with Village staff to quickly resolve the work site deficiencies," Dalen said in an email to Patch.

He said Clarendon Hill expected to lift the order this week. That would happen, he said, once the owner secures the entire site with appropriate fencing, installs a silt fence and removes mud on the street.

In an email to Patch on Monday, the owner, Chacko, said the village's action was triggered by an area on the property's southwest side that did not have fencing. That led to a misunderstanding between the village and the construction crew, he said.

"That part of the property was left open so ComEd crews could connect our upgraded electrical service that was slated to happen last week and has now been moved to a future date pending the removal of the 'Stop Order,'" Chacko said. "The Village was not aware that ComEd was scheduled."

He also said Clarendon Hills was concerned about dirt on the street, requesting silt barriers around the site.

"Again, this was the result of a misunderstanding as we moved dirt around at the request of a Village contractor that was completing some work near the North sidewalk," Chacko said. "Unfortunately, timing was not on our side when the rains came."

Originally, the coffee shop was supposed to have been ready by last Halloween. Instead, the restaurant sought a six-month delay from the village, which was granted.

In October 2024, Chacko reached an agreement with the village for a $622,000 subsidy.

The subsidy is coming from a tax increment financing district, or TIF, where growth in property tax income is reinvested in the district. The idea is that the growth in property value over time would reimburse the tax district for the subsidy.

Last fall, Chacko explained why the project was delayed.