Dog friendly food court may soon be coming to former industrial site near O’Fallon park

With a focus on families and sports teams, two brothers are hoping to score with a pet-friendly neighborhood food hall venue called The Old Base Factory near the Family Sports Park in O’Fallon.

The project would convert a former tool and die shop, which is a 12,000-square-foot building on 2.5 acres, into a space for indoor and outdoor dining. It is located at the park’s east entrance at 230 Oberneufemann Road.

Eric and Mike Wallace of Heritage Land Development want to offer a unique experience that will include five to eight food vendors inside and have a dog-friendly outdoor space that can accommodate large groups and sports teams.

“We hope to transition the old factory into a special place with local vendors our community will be proud to show off to the visitors to our town and a convenient place for visitors to the park to enjoy high quality food and beverages from local vendors,” he said.

They were granted a zoning use variance from agricultural to commercial on April 16, beginning the approval process through city committees. The application includes a restaurant serving alcohol with a 3,000-square-foot covered patio. They hope to have an indoor gaming area and outdoor lawn games, and a pick-up window, perhaps for ice cream or frozen treats.

If successful, Wallace said their goal is a grand opening in spring 2025.

“The zoning officer’s approval of our request is a good first step. The city has not approved our plans, but we are working closely with them in hopes of approval,” he said.

The council has 21 days to decide whether to exercise its “power of administrative review” of the zoning officer’s decision.

Community Development Director Justin Randall said if the council does not pass a motion to review it, the use variance will be granted.

The council’s Community Development Committee discussed the project at its meeting Monday.

As they did at the zoning hearing, several residents opposed spoke regarding their concerns about drainage, traffic, noise and nuisance. A couple residents in favor spoke of the new project as an asset that would be convenient for park visitors.

The city estimates the Family Sports Park draws between 300,000 to 350,000 visits to the park annually.

Wallace said he and his brother Mike walked the neighborhood and spoke to some residents. He thinks the improvements they have planned will allay some of the concerns.

“We’re really excited about it. We feel confident about the concept, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re ready to address any concerns, to follow proper procedures, do what the best options are,” Wallace said.

As dads, they’ve been to many baseball and soccer games at Family Sports Park, and understand how teams want to hang together, but that it’s hard to accommodate groups sometimes, he noted.

“Mike and I love to sit outside after a game, and we wanted to have an outdoor space where teams can go and get something to eat. Not everyone wants burgers, not everyone wants pizza, so we wanted to have a variety, with different vendors,” Wallace said.

“In my traveling for work, I like to go to food courts, see different city environments. I’m usually by myself, and I’ve been getting a lot of ideas,” he said.

Eric has worked in logistics for more than 30 years and Mike started a residential construction company, Definitive Home & Design, in 2007. Both brothers, originally from Collinsville, live in O’Fallon. They have children attending O’Fallon Township High School.

They want to be an incubator for up-and-coming culinary artists in the area to test their concepts but are also open to established restaurants wanting to expand their reach.

Wallace said this will be an opportunity for local places who don’t have enough capital for a larger operation to have a small kitchen with very little startup costs.

They are just beginning their search for a site director, a general manager for the operation, and have started interviewing potential food vendors.

The Wallaces would like to tie the site’s history into the new place, with its special connection to Major League Baseball, and hope to honor it with a mural and artifacts. And somehow, have a nod to the original owners in their displays. Hence, the name – The Old Base Factory.

MLB’s Bases

“That’s another really cool story,” Wallace said. “This site has always been industrial, when Ray Oberneufemann started AAA Tool & Machine Company, in 1968, even before O’Fallon had zoning.”

Such custom metal fabrication services as oven handles, roller skate wheels, truck and tractor parts, and other items were made there.

Beginning in 1973, they made all the metal base assemblies for Major League Baseball, and now make over 60,000 a year. These are shipped to Rawlings to install the final padding and logos, and then sold to the MLB.

MLB uses nine bases per game, switching them out in third and sixth innings, he said.

The O’Fallon business was in operation for over 50 years, and Ray’s two sons joined him in the business. After retirement, they sold the company to Brian Wort in 2014. He also started Velocity Metalworks, operating under one roof.

“He outgrew the building and moved to a larger site in Belleville,” Eric said.

As of February, Velocity Metalworks is at 9480 N. DeMazenod Drive, Belleville. They also have a facility in Hoffman, Illinois.

Zoning Hearing

Pan-Lear P. Eckert, a city zoning officer, granted the request on April 16, with the following conditions in writing, including that the expansion is limited to the submitted plans, and the hours of operation can only be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and no outdoor music is allowed.

Parking is to be constructed as required to accommodate the overall site. (The code stipulates 102 spaces, but the Wallaces plan to provide 111, with four accessible spots.)

A left-turn lane is to be striped from southbound Obernuefemann into the site for better traffic flow. For landscaping, which includes a berm and 6-foot vinyl fence, it is to be installed on the north, south and east property lines.

Six-foot-tall evergreens are to be planted every 10 feet and that at least one deciduous tree with a minimum 2-inch caliper be planted every 50 feet, on the north, south and east property lines.

The front of the building is to be improved to meet the requirements of the city’s commercial design handbook.

At the April 9 zoning hearing, 12 residents spoke out against the proposal, citing worries about drainage, excessive noise, trash, increased traffic, crime, vandalism, property values, and damage to natural habitat. A petition signed by 60 people opposed to the plan was presented.

In Eckert’s findings, he said the planned use would not affect the safety, welfare, and environment of the neighborhood, citing the previous building site since 1968. Because other uses for the property present difficult challenges, the best option for economic viability was to approve the proposed commercial plans, he wrote.