Rock Falls getting Dunkin' Donuts, third Casey's

ROCK FALLS – Two new businesses will begin construction this spring on First Avenue.

One of the new buildings will be a familiar one. Casey's General Store will put up its third convenience store in Rock Falls, this one at 1604 First Ave.

Casey's at one time had a third store in town at 907 First Ave., the current site of O'Reilly Auto Parts.

Dunkin' Donuts will be the new face to the area business landscape. The global doughnut shop and coffeehouse will also be on First Avenue, at a site that is now an empty lot directly south of Walgreens.

The closest Dunkin' Donuts to the Sauk Valley is 40 miles away in Peru. The company plans to build between 430 and 460 new stores nationwide this year.

The other Casey's are at 1201 E. Rock Falls Road and 900 Dixon Ave. The company said the new store will be similar to the recently remodeled store, just bigger.

"This will be one of our elite stores that are 46,000 square feet, which is as large as we go," said Sam James, a spokesman at Casey's corporate headquarters in Ankeny, Iowa.

The new store will have fresh pizza, doughnuts, and made-to-order subs.

The company said it likes the city's proximity to the interstate, and heavy traffic flow from U.S. 30 and state Route 40.

"We have a large store development program in the area," James said. "We are in 14 states now, and we have people looking at a lot of different factors, including traffic patterns and population growth."

James said the city's recent acquisition of developable land near the interstate exchange is another big plus.

Casey's acquired the land from businessman Pete Harkness. The building at 1604 First Ave. had been used as office space by Harkness, and occasionally by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The Casey's project will be more complicated because the land extends to an alleyway, from state Route 30 to West 16th Street.

"Everything will be knocked down there," Mayor Bill Wescott said. "There are two houses, but the renters are out, and Pete and IDOT were the only ones who used the office building."

Wescott said the city was approached by both companies about the projects.

"We're excited about the jobs and tax revenue, and the fact they came to us reinforces that we are doing some things the right way," Wescott said.

James said Casey's hopes to start construction by the end of March, and open the store in July or August.

The property for the Dunkin' Donuts, which extends from First Avenue behind Walgreens to Lindy Avenue, has been staked out. That property was owned by Walgreens. Construction there is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks, weather permitting.