Thursday, Jun. 04, 2009

Eckert's will spend $5 million to expand restaurant, store, workforce

BELLEVILLE -- Eckert's Inc. President Chris Eckert announced Wednesday the company's $5 million plans to expand its facilities, including its popular Country Store, in Belleville.

And the aldermanic Economic Development/Annexation Committee on Wednesday moved unanimously to urge the City Council to consider economic incentives to help the family-owned, local business with its expansion.

The council will vote June 15 on whether to pursue tax increment financing and special business districts for the property to help the owners pay for the expansion.

Chris Eckert said the company, which hosts more than 400,000 visitors each year at its Belleville facility at 951 S. Green Mount Road and is well-known for its pick-your-own orchards, has outgrown its restaurant and Country Store. Customers frequently leave because the facilities are too crowded, and the company often turns away large bus tours because it doesn't have sufficient accommodations.

The main features of the proposed expansion are:

* A new 18,000 square foot Country Store. It would be 50 percent larger than the current store, which was built in 1927 and has since expanded. The new store will adjoin the current Garden Center.

* Expanding the restaurant into the current Country Store building. It will accommodate 160 more seats, create outdoor seating and redefine the space used for entertainment.

* A growth of the full-time workforce by 60 percent over three years.

* Eliminating the current three Illinois 15 entrances to the business, and installing a new main entrance 300 feet west of Illinois 15. This is mandated by the Illinois Department of Transportation because of improvements to Illinois 15, and it will mean added costs of infrastructure improvements to move the entrance.

Eckert's also has farms in Millstadt and Grafton and a seasonal produce stand in Sappington, Mo. It has been a family operation since the 1870s, and next year will mark its 100th year as a retail business.

Chris Eckert said that despite the recession, his business hasn't experienced a downturn because people want to eat more locally produced food. He said he has to expand because the current facilities don't have "long-term potential," but he'll try to maintain the company's small-business appeal.

"There just comes a time in any business cycle where you have to invest, evolve. That's been our whole life history," he said, adding that the company has come a long way from its beginnings as a roadside stand, and growth of subdivisions and traffic near the business demand more expansion. "We've been able to succeed and remain viable because we've expanded and responded to the needs of the customers at that time."

He said that, without some assistance from the city, the company likely would have to delay or scale back the project.

Some residents in the past have criticized city leaders for their use of tax increment financing to aid development. The city, with more than a dozen districts, is second only to Chicago.

Mayor Mark Eckert, who is not related to the company president, said he thinks the expansion is worth potential tax dollars. He said the business is a "great sales tax producer" and that it has helped market the city. Chris Eckert said that as much as 70 percent of the business' customers come from Missouri.

"Eckert's is a destination, a great business," Mark Eckert said.

It could be five months before any agreement regarding incentives is finalized. Chris Eckert said he hopes the project can be completed in 2010 or 2011.