Eye care office coming to Sterling Commons

STERLING – An eye care office will join Buffalo Wild Wings as new tenants in the Sterling Commons Shopping Center on the east end of town.

All About Eyes is a 5-year-old, full-service optical company with eight locations in Illinois, including Peru and Moline. It will occupy 3,000 square feet of the 12,700-square-foot building developer First Rockford is constructing.

On the other side of the 12,000-square-foot building will be Buffalo Wild Wings.

“We thought this would be a good spot in between, and hopefully, it goes really well,” said Harlan Hankins, president and owner of All About Eyes. “Even with the economy being the way it is, we’ve taken advantage [of prices] that real estate has given us to go forward in these hard times.”

The company will employ about 10 people, including a full-time optometrist. It will invest $300,000 to $500,000 in the business.

The 36-acre development will be anchored by Menards, but the home improvement store will not begin work on its project until its current Sterling store is sold, company officials have said.

Last month, Buffalo Wild Wings received 100 applications for its manager positions, and interviewed people today.

Given the economy, District Manager Russell Ivie said he expects 800 to 1,000 people to apply for server, cook and host positions, but hiring for those spots won’t be done until 6 weeks before opening.

Both businesses hope to open by May.

They and developer First Rockford held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, even as construction was going on.

“We’re glad you’re investing with us,” Mayor Amy Viering said. “We have a great caliber of workers here to take care of your needs ... I think you’re going to get many rewards.”

First Rockford has spent $4.5 million on improvements, including sewer lines, pavement for parking lots and the construction of a building shell.

The shopping center has been 3 years in the making, but work was put on hold because of the economic downturn.

“In difficult times, you have to really pick and choose where you’re going to see the project,” said Sunil Puri, First Rockford president. “We had several tenants lined up and the economy put everything on standstill.”