Taco Bell restaurant may come to Chester
<span>Chester residents may soon be able to "Head for the border."</span>
<span>Chester Mayor Tom Page told the Herald Tribune on Tuesday that discussions are under way to possibly bring a Taco Bell to the Chester Center in the location currently occupied by the vacant Pizza Hut building.</span>
<span>"The old Pizza Hut building will be torn down and theoretically, a Taco Bell will be built in its place," he said, adding that discussions began weeks ago. "I don't have that 100 percent confirmed yet."</span>
<span>Red Dot Construction and Equipment Rentals owner Kurt Schroeder confirmed to the newspaper that his company got the demolition contract on the building, which has been closed since March 19, 2007 after serving the Chester community for 30 years.</span>
<span>"It will be sometime, yes," said Kurt Schroeder, owner of Red Dot Construction and Equipment Rentals, when asked about the demolition. "I don't know when, probably in about a month.</span>
<span>"Beyond that, I don't know much."</span>
<span>Columbia, Ill.-based mega-developer Joe Koppeis owns the Chester Center - officially owned by Chester Shopping Center LLC according to Randolph County land records - and recently purchased the Apple Tree Inn property in Murphysboro for $125,000 in a June 1 foreclosure auction. </span>
<span>Koppeis, who is reportedly behind the potential development, also owns the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Sparta, real estate company Admiral Parkway Inc., three other shopping centers, five Ace Hardware stores (including Chester) and two Domino's locations.</span>
<span>It is not yet confirmed whether the restaurant will solely be a Taco Bell or a co-branded one. Taco Bell co-branded with KFC in 1995 and also co-brands with Pizza Hut.</span>
<span>On Thursday, Admiral Parkway spokesman Fred Devenport, relaying a statement from Koppeis, told the Herald Tribune it "was way too early to tell" on the new restaurant.
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<span>"Once we do have something, (Koppeis) will be happy to do a full interview," Devenport said.</span>
<span>"That was the impression I got from Mr. Koppeis," Page said, regarding whether the restaurant would solely be a Taco Bell location.</span>
<span>With the new Holiday Inn Express - a project being spearheaded by James Best and the Chester Hotel Group - under construction down the street, the timing of the new restaurant development seems logical.</span>
<span>Page noted there are also plans to address the entrances into the Chester Center from Lehmen Drive.</span>
<span>"We're trying to do some things with the entrances to the shopping center," he said. "There's four or five different entrances and exits and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense."</span>
<span>The Chester Center is in the city's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district and Page said there is a possibility TIF funds could be used for the potential restaurant.</span>
<span>"2020 is the last year, so he doesn't have much time, but we would certainly entertain the thought of that being a TIF project," Page said.</span>