Ayom Siengo and Chef Won Kim of On the Fly Hospitality presented concept plans for The Flossmoor Smokehouse, a barbecue restaurant, at the March 3 Flossmoor village board meeting.
The two proposed using village-owned vacant property on Governors Highway that previously housed the Sunnycrest Nursery. Siengo said they plan to keep the structure of the old building and restore it.
Plans include indoor and outdoor dining spaces, a space to host private parties, and catering. The business will have a family-friendly atmosphere.
The presentation displayed On the Fly Hospitality restaurant history, marketing and business opportunities, community initiatives and engagement, and concept art for the restaurant.
Siengo, a Flossmoor resident for the past 13 years, said he has always been curious about why there are not more restaurants in the area.
“The idea behind this is to bring high quality both food, cuisine. Everybody I hope loves barbecue,” Siengo said. “Also, everybody hopefully loves culinary archery (culinary skills), and that is really what Won has been doing at two of his locations.”
Chef Won runs Kimski, an Asian, Korean and Polish fusion restaurant along with Lilac Tiger, a cocktail bar with music and Asian dining in Chicago. He also has participated in Maureen Mader’s annual Battle of the Chef charity fundraisers at Dunning’s Market, and that experience figured in his decision to create a restaurant in the village.
He said he usually says no to requests that he start a new restaurant, but the trust and support of so many people in the community at those events made him want to work in Flossmoor.
“It is a no brainer to me to want invest in Flossmoor,” he said.
Siengo said there is a lack of diverse family and community-friendly dining in the South Suburbs. He said he always looks for a place where he can enjoy time with family and friends.
“There’s a lack of enough place to do those activities and that’s what we want to bring to the Southland, to Flossmoor,” Siengo said.
The partners also have the goal of making it easier for Flossmoor residents to stay within the village and not have to travel to find a nice establishment.
“To see that economic leakage, putting your dollar where they’re not going to have benefit, it is really an ongoing challenge. So, what we’re standing up for is a solution to confront that,” Siengo said.
He also hopes to provide more job opportunities and a chance to train people in the restaurant business.
There would be two smokehouses in the Flossmoor location: an American barbecue and a Korean barbecue that would be constructed later in the development.
They found few competitors in their field. They looked at restaurants in Orland Park, Crestwood and Mokena.
“We believe that bringing this to Flossmoor, number one, begins to get at the demands of what local residents are looking for as they spend their time, spend their money,” Siengo said.
While going over the architectural plans, Siengo said the existing building would be turned into the smokehouse and a restaurant along with a patio, fire pits, and additional outside seating. There will be parking for 34 cars.
As the business grows, the pair will begin phase two to include a covered bar, an outside entertainment area, and a stage for local performing acts like bands and DJs.
“We’re looking for ways for folks in Flossmoor to have an extension of their backyard to attract the right business or the right customers,” Siengo said.
Mayor Michelle Nelson said she and Village Manager Bridget Wachtel are working with Siengo looking for grants for this project.
Nelson asked the village board if they were interested in conveying the land to the businessmen and would consider a waiver or reduction in fees. She also asked if trustees would support a Cook County Class 8 tax abatement, and a make-whole agreement discussed in previous meetings.
Trustees did not take formal action at the meeting, but Brian Driscoll, George Lofton, Rosalind Mustafa, Joni Bradley-Scott, and Gary Daggett were in favor of all the incentives.
Trustee James Mitros said he had a challenging time envisioning repurposing the existing structure for the restaurant. He supports the tax abatement and says the others sound like incentives one would get in a TIF district and was not in support of that.
According to the timeline in the presentation, property acquisition and initial planning would begin in early April.