8 years after city approval, work begins on McHenry cigar and whiskey bar at former McDonald’s

Construction has started to renovate the old McDonalds at Route 31 and Charles J. Miller Road in McHenry.

On Dec. 17, 2018, the McHenry City Council gave A. J. “Sam” Shah its nod of approval for a cigar and whiskey bar . Last week, work began to transform 522 S. Route 31, at the corner of Charles J. Miller Road, into that bar. Demolition has started inside, and a construction waste hauler sits next to the former fast food restaurant.

“He is finally moving forward with his plans,” said Ross Polerecky, director of community development. Between personal issues, getting funding together and working on his other businesses, it has taken time to get to this point, Shah said this week. He now has a demolition permit from the city and workers are clearing out the building as he interviews contractors for the interior renovation, Shah said.

He hopes to gets the bar – he does not have a name for it yet – open in about six months. With the delayed opening, if Shah wants to serve food inside, he will now only need to wait another dozen or so years. The former McDonald’s on the property has a deed restriction on the property.

The site has sat empty since the fast-food restaurant closed and moved to a new location a quarter-mile north in 2012. The deed restriction on the long-closed restaurant prohibits a buyer from cooking food inside the building for 20 years after its purchase. In his report to the City Council in 2018, economic development director Doug Martin pointed out that restriction – along with limited access to the site following road restructuring – made it a difficult site to sell.

The 2018 conditional use permit from McHenry allows Shah to have food trucks on site. Shah, who also owns Sam’s Liquor & Wine across the parking lot from the new bar, said he plans to have a food truck on site “all of the time. I have talked to local people with food trucks” who are interested in setting up there.

He plans to go to the city soon for his liquor license, Shah added. The conditional use permit also allows outdoor entertainment along with the outside smoking and eating area. The permit requires decorative fencing or another enclosure for the outdoor areas, and a hedge strip along the south and wet parking areas to screen headlights from the two adjacent roads.