Incoming Geneva chicken eatery could get city financial aid

Geneva-based restaurateurs received early support this week for public dollars from the city which they said will help support the opening of their new chicken eatery, HoneyBird.

Acting as the Committee of the Whole July 7, recommended approval for a tax increment financing district reimbursement of up to $135,883 for the owner of Riganato owners’ new, second restaurant.

The approval to owners, Nick and Jim Nicolaou, was because of the high cost of converting the more than century-old building at 427 E. State St., for restaurant use, officials said. The Geneva City Council still needs to vote before funds are distributed.

In 2024, the City Council granted the Nicolaous $38,608 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to install accessibility-friendly restrooms and a fire alarm, officials said.

The ARPA funds were set aside for historic preservation and adaptive reuse, as the building they are converting to a restaurant was built in 1877 and was previously used as an office.

City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said the Nicolaous were also granted special use zoning for the project this year.

“And during those discussions, we noted that the owners were seeking additional TIF assistance due to the high costs of converting the space to a restaurant use,” Dawkins said.

A TIF – or tax increment financing district – is a development tool local governments use to encourage development or redevelopment in blighted areas that would be too expensive to improve with private investment alone. It freezes the equalized assessed value level of property and diverts increased revenue – from property tax or sales tax – to the TIF for specific improvements, rather than to local taxing bodies.

Dawkins said the city’s TIF 2 future fund balance is difficult to predict as it depends on the East State Street Road Construction Project for financing.

The East State Street project involves the reconstruction and widening of Route 38 from the Fox River bridge east to about Kane Street.

The Nicolaus will be reimbursed through the TIF sales tax increments, but that depends on resources available in each budget year, Dawkins said.

The Nicolaus’ private investment is $612,049 for property acquisition for both and $700,696 for the estimated retrofitting cost. The public portion of $135,883 is 13% of the total project cost, Dawkins said.

“This proposed level of public financing assistance is consistent with past practices for similar projects,” Dawkins said. “This project meets several TIF and city goals and its completion will add to the business offerings available east of the Fox River.”

According to the agreement, the owners must provide record of their funding sources to the city by Sept. 1; apply for permits to begin the project by Oct. 1; complete the project by May 1, 2026, and provide an itemization of all project costs.

Third Ward Alderperson Dean Kilburg said the family’s current enterprise – Riganato Old World Grille at 700 E. State St. – has been very successful.

“I have no doubt that HoneyBird will be just as successful and will generate a lot of sales tax revenue for the city,” Kilburg said. “I’m optimistic that this project will move forward at a rapid pace and would be in business sometime in the near future.”

First Ward Alderperson Anaïs Bowring said the agreement was a good way to apply TIF funds by being flexible, depending on how the reconstruction goes.

“I think this benefits the East State Street corridor, as well Geneva as a whole, so I am excited to see this project going forward,” Bowring said.