Smoothie King To Take Old Brown's Chicken Location In Tinley Park

TINLEY PARK, IL — Smoothie King will soon appear in Tinley Park, taking over the old Brown's Chicken location that closed in January 2020. The news comes as the franchise looks to expand its current seven locations in the Chicagoland/ Northwest Indiana area to 20 by 2023.

The former Brown's Chicken spot, located at 6801 159th Street, was placed for sale shortly after it closed, and was eventually purchased by PARTH37, LLC, for the upcoming development in June 2021. The site will operate as a standalone single-tenant building.

According to village documents, Smoothie King is has over 1,000 locations across the United States, with its closest locations in Orland Park and Mokena. Its business model is dedicated almost entirely to freshly made smoothies for desserts, snacks, meal replacement and fitness. No food service beyond smoothies is planned for the site, but other prepackaged goods and merchandise will be available for sale, according to the village.

Developer Parth Patel, on behalf of PARTH37, LLC, attended the Tuesday evening Board of Trustees meeting in Tinley Park. The board approved a zoning ordinance for parking variations and a drive-thru for the new business, along with a Cook County Class Eight request to aid in redevelopment. The developers plan to invest $800,000 to renovate the property in order to reoccupy the building.

This property is located within the village’s 159th Street and Harlem Avenue TIF District. Village documents state that the site will have dual drive-thru lanes, with one-way circulation around the building. The overall landscaping and signage improvements proposed are expected
to upgrade the "blighted property at a prominent entrance into the village."

Patel told the board he has been aware of the Brown's Chicken location since he was 16 years old, when he and his father would often travel to the neighboring Menard's building for home improvement supplies. Years later, excited, Patel said it is almost odd that he is now redeveloping the site.

"We would always go there, and I would always see that brown chicken on that corner," Patel said. "I'm glad that I'm able to put something that I've always known, and try and put something that looks a lot better than how it looks right now, because [the location] has kind of gotten beaten up over time."

The site sits at the busy intersection of Oak Park Avenue and 159th Street. To the north of the site, Delta Sonic Gas Station and Car Wash can be found. Just south of the site is the Brementowne Mall and Menards, and to the west, Golden Corral.

There is no mention of an opening date just yet. Patel said there will be four more location proposals by the first quarter of 2022, and he hopes to have another four proposals by the third quarter as well.