It will soon be easier for Logan Square residents who don’t own a car to shop for grocery essentials at Whole Foods Market, thanks to a development project that will replace the former Family Dollar at Milwaukee and California avenues.
An opening date for the new grocery store at 2280 N. Milwaukee Ave. is unknown.
The smaller-format store will offer a curated selection of groceries and prepared foods in a smaller footprint than a traditional Whole Foods. Located steps from the California Blue Line CTA station, the store could make it easier for commuters and residents to pick up groceries without driving, 1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata said.
“If we want people needing to make fewer deliveries, people not having to drive as much, being able to walk to a local grocery, being able to step off the train right to a local grocery store — I think it’s a net positive for our neighborhood,” he said.
La Spata added that the development would not require zoning relief or city subsidies, describing it as a “buy right economic development decision.”
Whole Foods’ smaller-format stores, known as Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, are designed for urban neighborhoods where shoppers can pick up everyday essentials without navigating a full-size supermarket, according to the company in a May news release.
The company announced a Daily Shop location in Chicago earlier this year at 1200 N. Ashland Ave. in Wicker Park.
The former Family Dollar property has undergone renovations in recent months, and the store is likely to open on an accelerated timeline, La Spata said. A Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed the development but did not share an opening date or operational details with the Chicago Sun-Times.
Logan Square is also slated to get its first Trader Joe’s at 2053 N. Milwaukee Ave., a few blocks away. The store could open next year as the California-based grocer continues to expand in Chicago.