WEST PEORIA, Ill. – It’s the moment West Peoria Mayor Jim Dillon says residents have been waiting for.
“For probably the last year, all I’ve heard is ‘When’s Raber’s going to open?’ Now, I can tell them it’s open,” said Dillon.
Dillon was on hand Monday for the grand re-opening of Raber Packing Company in West Peoria — re-built just a half mile down Farmington Road from where the old facility was destroyed in a fire three years ago.
Not re-opening wasn’t an option for Henry Courdt, president of Raber Packing Company.
“If a catastrophic thing like that ever happened, my goal always was to be able to reopen the plant,” said Courdt. “The problem was, at the time, that I never really thought too much into that situation.”
But now, Courdt says he knows more than he ever thought possible about rebuilding. And, he says it’s going to lead to a better experience for the customer: more retail space, windows to watch meat processing at work, and more.
“It was all about this experience of showing people more of how this stuff gets done. And, I think, we really achieved that here. And, I think that’s, when you come in here…that’s the kind of stuff that is the most impressive about what we’re doing here today.”
Dillon says it’s not the most popular means, but in a sense, taxpayers are helping Raber’s start again.
“Through a [Tax Increment Financing District], we reimbursed [Raber’s president Henry Courdt] and the family for the property, which will be paid back to the city over 20 years,” said Dillon. “It’s an incentive that we can use as a municipality to help businesses.”
What’s more, Dillon says Raber’s rebuilt on a spot that he says helped get rid of an eyesore in town.
Raber’s has been open the past several weeks, and banquets have been using their hall for a while, prior to Monday’s grand opening.
Will Stevenson/1470 & 100.3 WMBD
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