To accommodate an ambitious expansion of its culinary arts program, the College of Lake County (CLC) has built new out new educational and hospitality spaces in two buildings: the Brae Loch County Club and the lower level of CLC’s A-wing building.

The Brae Loch Country Club building was constructed as a two-story residence in the 1940s. The facility is now owned by the Lake County Forest Preserve and leased to CLC to operate the student-run restaurant: Prairie at Brae Loch. The adaptive reuse program for the Country Club includes a new open-concept kitchen with hot and cold prep areas serving the restaurant and dining space, a new bar area, cold storage and an expanded delivery dock. The restaurant is intended to train final-year students in a versatile public setting.

The existing A-Wing Building space on campus has been reconfigured to add additional instructional kitchens, a bake shop and a shared market, as well as to modernize and improve equipment, functionality, storage options and delivery logistics.