DNA Info: South Shore Residents Demand Action on Last Unclaimed Dominick's

2101 E 71st St via DNA Info

So now this former Dominick's located in South Shore near the shopping center at 71st/Jeffrey still remains without a tenant the only former location without a tenant in the city and the nearby residents are concerned. Many of the other former Dominick's locations are soon to be Mariano's, Whole Foods Market, or Jewel - besides it was in the news that Jewel will acquire more former Dominick's locations.

Residents of South Shore are still wondering what will replace the shuttered Dominick's in Jeffery Plaza, the chain's only remaining location yet to be sold in the city.

And one member of the mayor's hand-picked task force charged with tackling the problem said Saturday community members should not wait around for an answer.

The Rev. Jeanette Wilson, of Rainbow PUSH, called her appointment to the task force a "paper title" and said the group has met twice since it was formed in December.

Wilson spoke Saturday afternoon during a meeting hosted by the Planning Coalition at the South Shore Cultural Center.

The South Shore Dominick's is the last unclaimed store in the city, one of 15 that closed its doors last December after the chain announced it was leaving the area.

Last week, Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) told South Shore residents seven grocers had declined to buy the store. Hairston, whose ward includes Jeffery Plaza, cited four reasons the site has been slow to sell: amount of investment needed to improve the store, surrounding competition, community demographics and store profitability.

City officials have said any buyer will have to invest about $6 million to update the 65,000-square-foot store, and Dominick's' parent company Safeway has the space leased through May 2015.

So, if you have a potential idea for who should come, well this site has plenty of rejections already: "City officials have reached out to Whole Foods, Treasure Island, Ultra and Mariano's among other chains, and all have declined to lease the location."

Let's not get entirely cared away, there is already a Jewel store located at 75th & Stony Island. On the other hand as stated in this article "retail attracts retail". Hopefully the former grocery store can attract a chain to this former Dominick's store. What would you like to see take up this space.

Hat-tip Curbed Chicago!

The old Wendy's and the store next door...

I took this shot near 95th & King Drive this past Thursday. Wendy's has been closed for about a month already the establishment boarded up and Wendy's sign removed. What would you like to see here to replace them?

BTW, this is old news that was noted on our FB page last month. A reader chimed in that the owners of this franchise sold the business and moved on.

ALSO at the time I took this picture a group of young people were loitering just outside of the store next door to the former Wendy's. The store formerly was home very briefly to a Quench Fresh Family Foods store. There was a big group no more than 10 young people standing outside. I know that a lot of people are at odds with this store, but to their credit someone came out to shoo the loiterers away from their door. They didn't move along right away but eventually they did.

I did attempt to get a shot of the loitering but hey can't always get the perfect shot. I took a shot of some young loiterers at a gas station near the 95th Street terminal on Tuesday. When it's dismissal time -with Harlan and Gillespie nearby - there is normally a police car present however on this day there wasn't.

It makes you wonder what's the appeal of just standing around near a place of business with no intention of doing any business?

Want to live in your storefront? City Council advances proposal - Chicago Sun-Times

Want to live in your storefront? City Council advances proposal - Chicago Sun-Times

Could this be what's necessary in our neighborhood's vacant storefronts?

Chicagoans would be free to live and work in the same place — and avoid commuting — thanks to a zoning change advanced Thursday to fill vacant storefronts and return the city to its “roots.”

“It’s how Chicago was built. Family in the back. Store in the front,” said Ald. “Proco” Joe Moreno (1st).

At Moreno’s behest, the City Council’s Zoning Committee approved a zoning change that will allow up to 50 percent of work space in low-intensity business districts to be used for living space.

Chicago’s zoning code currently allows only artists to live in their work space as well as those with home offices.

Moreno predicted that “thousands” of professionals would take advantage of the change, filling scores of vacant storefronts and building the city’s tax base.

Whole Foods Teases the West Loop

What does the West Loop have to do with the 6th Ward. Well I see an opportunity for us on the south side with this. Especially as Asiaha Butler was on TV months ago talking about getting a Whole Foods Market in Englewood. That in addition to potentially filling up some of the empty storefronts on 79th Street for example. It could be a start.

The Chicago Architecture Blog:

While new choices are always welcome, it would have been nice if Whole Foods had opened inside one of the hundreds of empty storefronts nearby instead of squatting in a lobby.  But hopefully, WF is testing the waters to see if some expansion is warranted in the area.  The nearest full store is at 1101 South Canal Street, about a mile and a half away, and not reachable from the West Loop by public transportation.

No full service store necessary just use up a storefront to determine whether or not some expansion in this part of the city is warranted. Think about it!

And perhaps to fill up that storefront near 95th & King Drive where Quench: Fresh Family Foods closed up shop not long after having ABC 7 come out for their store opening.

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• Calumet Heights wants a Whole Foods
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Space for rent near 95th & King Drive

I took this picture this evening just before the sun went down!

This space @ 336 E. 95th St. was home to Quench's Fresh Family Foods that even had ABC 7 come out and do a news story on them. Now, the store is for rent with a huge sign to tell you how to inquire about this space. It makes me wonder what happened to this place after a huge roll-out with a major TV station and then nothing.

PREVIOUS POST

• What ever happened to Quench's Fresh Family Foods? 

Where Do We Go in 2011

In 2010 some major issues came to light in our community. We saw a rise in serious crime that took the life of Officer Thomas Wortham, an up and coming police officer and community leader. We saw the fall of education where one of our high schools Robeson was called one of the worst in the nation and three of our elementary schools, Deneen, Gillespie and Ruggles showed up on CPS probationary list. Lastly, 79th street one of the longest streets in the city of Chicago and once a mecca for African American business now is a street of empty storefronts.

While we have had our struggles this year, the new year 2011 brings a lot of promise. The election of a new mayor, a real aldermandic election, and a community that has wakened up. What do we need to do in 2011? The first topic we want to discuss is education. We cannot continue to make excuses for our schools. Whether they are elementary, secondary or post secondary we MUST demand excellence from our educational institutions. I suggest that after the election for Alderman, that the winner convene several town hall meetings where we have a serious discussions about the problems and how do we fix them. Also, look at the models that are currently being used whether its the traditional, charter, or a hybrid combining the best of both. What will work best for our community? What ideas do you have to better our schools?

Outside of this storefront on 113 E. 95th Street.

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The approximate location of this storefront you see above in Google Street View.

Check out the pictures below. Drove by one day and saw a storefront dominated by pictures of a person and other posters. Walked by earlier today and saw that this could be an eventual campaign HQ for Richard Wooten for Alderman. You can visit his website at http://www.chicago6thward.com. The middle poster he claims to live in Chatham has a church in Englewood, but has business interests in Grand Crossing and Park Manor. Hmmm sounds like a guy who wants to reach out to the various neighborhoods of the 6th.

Aside from this visible presence the storefront itself is gated up, but I look forward to them opening up shop. If anyone else running for Alderman next year has a campaign HQ, I look forward to you opening up shop as well. Let us know on our 2011 page!

Shelter Deli sits vacant

It's been closed since September according to Worlee on a post over the The Sixth Ward Facebook Page. They made a mean corned beef and also was home to a lounge, unfortunately both are closed. There is a real estate sign in the window of this place. I didn't get close enough to read it, however, it may either be available to rent or up for sale.

The awning of this place is very tattered. Although who knows if it was the result of this place closing or it just wasn't maintained very well.

BTW, I found this article regarding one of the original owners of Shelter Deli/Lounge, Eunice Hamner. She passed away in March 2002. It gives a better history of this place and who used to run it. Of course the question is, what happened to this place that caused it to shut down.

Shelter Deli