New restaurant, ice cream shop both approved by Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission

On Monday night the commission approved the master conceptual plan to develop a 2.95-acre property at the southeast corner of 115th Avenue and Hwy. 50. The area is part of Tax Incremental District 8 (TID 8) and is known as the River View commercial development area.

The plan includes the construction of a 4,670-square-foot Buona Beef restaurant and Rainbow Cone ice cream shop, complete with a drive-through and outdoor dining space.

The proposal for the property will subdivide the land into two commercial lots, with Lot 1 being the first commercial development in the development district. Lot 1, which is expected to be around 1.3 acres, will have a shared driveway with Lot 2 off 115th Avenue.

Buona Beef, founded in 1981 by Joe and Peggy Buonavolanto in Berwyn, Ill., is the largest family-owned Italian beef restaurant group and Italian beef producer in the country. The company is known for its authentic Italian beef sandwich recipe.

Rainbow Cone, founded in 1926 by “Grandpa Joe” Sapp, is a Chicago staple known for its signature five-flavor “Rainbow Cone.”

The two restaurants recently entered into a joint venture and have opened five combination restaurants in Illinois and Indiana.

The Pleasant Prairie location will be their first location in Wisconsin, with plans to open another restaurant in Lake Geneva.

“We are thrilled to bring the two Chicago, family-owned traditions of Buona Beef and Rainbow Cone to the Pleasant Prairie community,” said Jean Werbie-Harris, Pleasant Prairie community development director. “This development will provide new dining options and employment opportunities for the area. We look forward to the proposed construction beginning in the spring.”

Once complete, the restaurant plans to be open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The building designs strive to create a family-friendly dining experience.

With approval from the Plan Commission, the agenda item will now move forward to the Village Board for final approval.

A series of steps toward the development and construction of a new village police station at 10111 39th Ave., were approved by the commission at Monday’s meeting.

The panel approved the project’s survey map, infrastructure plans and memorandum of understanding for the project. The commission also considered site and operational plans for the police station development, and held a public hearing on rezoning map and text amendments required for the project.

The new station will be built on approximately 4.5 acres of property owned by the village south of 100th Street and north of 104th Street on the east side of 39th Avenue.

Pleasant Prairie Chief of Police David Smetana said previously that plans for a new station began in 2016 to “address several deficits in the space” at the current police station, 8600 Green Bay Road.

Designs for the new police station propose a total building size of approximately 58,000 square feet. The main level will consist of roughly 28,000 square feet for offices and conference rooms, with space for dispatch, roll call, booking and holding, evidence intake, storage, locker rooms and mechanical rooms. In addition, the Police Department will use the station’s lower level for underground parking, a fitness room, additional storage space and a vehicle impound area.

Smetana said the department needed more office space and an updated and expanded evidence processing area that would allow the use of newer equipment. The new facility would allow for indoor parking for all of the department’s equipment, as opposed to the current facility’s six indoor parking spots. In addition, they were “approaching a limit” on women’s locker space and meeting areas.