New businesses continue to flock to Oswego.

And Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman said he knows the reason why.

“When Trader Joe’s chooses your community, it says that this is a place with energy, stability and a customer base that executives believe in,” Kauffman said during his State of the Village address on March 4.

The Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the event, held at Oswego Village Hall.

As Kauffman confirmed during his address, a Trader Joe’s grocery store is being built at the southwest corner of U.S. Route 34 and Kendall Point Drive, next to Delta Sonic. Trader Joe’s previously had not said where the store would be located.

The store is set to open in the fall, he said.

Along with Trader Joe’s, Kauffman noted that national retailer HomeGoods plans to build a store between PetSmart and Aldi in the Prairie Market East shopping center at the intersection of U.S. Route 34 and Fifth Street.

In addition, Dutch Bros. Coffee plans to open a 989- square-foot drive-thru restaurant near the intersection of U.S. Route 34 and Ogden Falls Boulevard in Oswego. The store would be its first in northern Illinois, he said.

At the same time, Kauffman said new businesses continue to flock to downtown Oswego, including Bay 54 cocktail lounge. Bay 54 is renovating the space at 57 Main St. that formerly housed The Bike Rack Oswego.

“Bay 54 represents something equally important – local entrepreneurs investing in our downtown because they believe in Oswego’s future," he said.

Kauffman said it is his goal to make downtown Oswego a true destination, a place where “people gather, explore, shop and return to again and again.”

“One of the most exciting examples of that vision is the reimagining of Harrison Street,” he said.

Village trustees have approved plans for a private training and group fitness facility to open in a portion of an industrial building along South Harrison Street in downtown Oswego.

The proposal is part of a bigger project to redevelop that portion of Harrison Street. Plans also call for small retail shop spaces, food trucks with a pavilion and a recreational area along with a dog park.

Last August, Oswego village trustees approved a special use permit for TermiNader Fitness, which plans to locate in about 2,000 square feet on the northwest side of the about 10,000-square-foot building at 174 S. Harrison St.

The business is owned by Ryan and Monique Nader.

Barkville Buddies, composed of an indoor dog-friendly bar and an outdoor fenced-in dog area, will be located on the southwest side of the building. Village trustees approved a liquor license for Barkville Buddies on Aug. 5.

During his address, Kauffman also complimented the village’s first responders in responding to several tragedies in the past year, including when a 2-year-old boy was killed last July after a car crashed into the front entrance of the Portillo’s restaurant in Oswego.

“Oswego is safer because of them and we are grateful beyond words.” he said.

New businesses in Oswego now will have to install barriers to protect pedestrians along sidewalks or store entrances. The rules are known as Finnegan’s Law, a reference to the boy killed in the crash, Finnegan Trooper McKee.

“We are actively partnering with our state legislature to make Finnegan’s Law the law of the land across Illinois,” Kauffman said.