5572 Grand Ave, Gurnee: Haraz Coffee House had the brand, the franchisee, and the space — what it didn’t have was the parking and use approval the Village of Gurnee required before a cup could be poured. Jason Bitton, representing the franchisee, ran a parking feasibility study, benchmarked it against neighboring properties, and carried the case through the village’s zoning process to approval — and a five-year lease at $26/SF NNN.
Haraz Coffee House is a fast-growing coffee franchise, and the franchisee had found the right space: 5572 Grand Ave in Gurnee. One problem: Gurnee is exacting about parking, and the coffee-house use needed village approval before it could open. Plenty of deals die exactly here — the tenant and the landlord agree on everything, and the location still falls apart because nobody builds the case the village needs to say yes. For a franchisee, that risk lands twice: a lost location, and a franchise clock that keeps running while you start the search over.
Instead of arguing about parking, Jason measured it. He ran a parking feasibility study for the site and benchmarked it against neighboring properties — how much parking comparable uses around Grand Ave actually have, and how the coffee house’s demand profile fit this site.
Then he carried that case through the Village of Gurnee’s zoning process on the franchisee’s behalf — answering the village’s concerns with data instead of assurances, so the approval was a conclusion, not a favor.
The village approved the use. The franchisee signed a five-year lease at $26/SF NNN — a location secured not by luck, but by a study that gave the Village of Gurnee exactly what it needed to say yes.
“The parking lot didn’t change. The case for it did — and that’s what got the use approved.”
For tenants — especially franchisees — the scariest part of a deal is often not the rent. It’s the approval that has to happen after the business terms are agreed. This deal shows what a broker can do about it.
Tell Jason the use and the address — he’ll tell you what the village will ask, what the case needs to show, and whether the location is worth the chase. Confidential, before you sign anything.
Own a property with an approval problem instead? Same door: For Owners or call.