New bank opens in Mundelein

The northwest corner of routes 45 and 60 in Mundelein has been a tough location for businesses for years.

Over the last decade, a series of restaurants, retailers, supermarkets and other operations have tried to make a go of it there - and many have failed.

The newest tenant on the high-profile corner is part of an industry with its own problems right now: Chase Bank.

But village leaders hope the bank, at 380 Townline Road, will succeed and encourage other entrepreneurs to take a risk at that location.

"Particularly in these economic times, we thought it was great," Village Administrator John Lobaito said. "We think it provides one more reason for people to come down to that shopping center, and it provides some activity there."

The bank opened to customers Dec. 15 in a new, brick building with four drive-through lanes. Enormous all-capital letters in the front windows proclaim the bank is now open.

The roughly 5,000-square-foot bank is in front of the Garden Fresh Market and west of the McDonald's restaurant that's closest to the intersection. Both of those businesses appear to be thriving.

Other businesses on the corner have not fared as well. Just to the west of the bank is a long-shuttered restaurant that has gone through a series of identity changes. Most recently it was Fuel Bar & Grill - until it was shut down this past spring following gambling and drug arrests on the property.

Elsewhere in the center, a large retail space that once held a Garden Fresh - and before that, a Service Merchandise store - remains vacant.

"You know that's been a troubling area down there," village Trustee Ray Semple said. "It's (been hard) to sustain a business long term."

Although he would've preferred to see a new business that generates sales tax for the village on the corner, Semple said he's glad to see the new bank.

"It's a nice looking building and hopefully it can act as a catalyst and get other businesses in there," he said.

The bank is the only stand-alone Chase facility in Mundelein. A branch operates inside the Dominick's Finer Foods at 1150 W. Maple Ave. Other nearby branches operate in Wauconda, Grayslake and Libertyville.

A public grand-opening celebration is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 10. It will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the bank.