Happy Wash Demo Begins, Making Way For 5 Story Residential

Demolition underway at Wilson & Dover (photo by Reader JR)

We first heard of a proposal to replace the Happy Wash Building at Wilson & Dover back in November 2019. The proposal was for an attractive 4 story project that required a zoning change.  That proposal, along with a second proposal, were rejected by the local block club, Dover Street Neighbors. 

A new, taller proposal emerged that did not require a zoning change. The current project is being built without a zoning change, only variances.

We knew demolition was inevitable, and readers sent photos earlier today showing the demolition has started. 

Although we will miss this lovely old building, we were happy that the decorative elements were preserved before demolition. Most importantly, we are happy that an empty building is being replaced with 5 stories worth of apartments added to a bustling corner of Sheridan Park.

Due to no zoning change being approved with the first proposal and no zoning change requested with the latest project, no on or off-site affordable will be required. 

Looking south from Wilson through the demo site, toward the "workforce housing" that the local
block club classifies as "affordable."

Green Mill Gardens Building Looking for a New Owner

The property at 4800-4810 N. Broadway just came on the market yesterday. Link to the agent's PDF here, no price listed, sorry.

Courtesy VHT/Loopnet

The 1914 building hasn't changed hands in long long long time, and this is a golden opportunity for the right buyer. It was part of the historic Green Mill Gardens complex (great history here, thank you Robert Loerzel) and has those Al Capone tunnels.

The lucky buyer will get a building home to a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant (Birreria Zaragoza), an internationally known jazz icon (The Green Mill) and another stalwart of the Chicago music scene (Le Nocturne). 

Additional tenants include the delicious taqueria Carmela's and Rupee Wine and Spirits. There is also the potential for another music club and another potential restaurant.   

Here's hoping it finds the right buyer!

Annual Pilgrimage Of Monks Through Uptown

photo by Bill Biederman

Photographer Bill Biederman sends us a beautiful photo of this year's procession of monks through Uptown as they cross Dover & Wilson. More on the previous processions here. 

Lawrence Food & Deli Now Open Across from Aragon

1113 W. Lawrence (TL)

We have been watching slow progress at the former Kinetic Playground space at 1113 W. Lawrence for many months now. 

We are happy to report that Lawrence Food & Deli (formerly "All Food & Deli") is now open for business across from the Aragon Ballroom.

A reader stopped by and sent us an email with a glowing review, mentioning the variety of food and household items available for purchase, along with a variety of freshly made subs and breakfast sandwiches (see menu below). They plan to have a website and social media presence in a few weeks so keep an eye out. 

The deli's hours are Monday-Thursday 7:00AM-12:00PM, Friday 7:00AM-2:00AM, Saturday 8:00AM-2:00AM and Sunday 9:00AM-9:00PM. 

Welcome to the neighborhood!

The sub selection at Lawrence Food & Deli (TL)

Argyle's Kim Huot to Close

A sign in the window announces longtime Argyle jewelry and gift store Kim Huot is closing its doors. 

Image courtesy reader "TL"

The business has been a fixture on Argyle (1046 W. Argyle) for as long as we can remember. There has been a ton of change on Argyle of late, and this is yet another significant reshuffling of the existing business base. We are waiting on the planned move of Kim Huot's neighbor, Foremost Liquors, sometime this summer. 

Empanadas to Kebabs

Image Courtesy of Reader "TL"

We first heard about a new Turkish doner restaurant coming to the old Don Pablo's space back in late January, and new signage confirms "Turkish Doner" is close to opening (Eds: possibly "Turkish Doner Cafe" from a tipster). 

We loved Don Pablo's empanadas and miss the business, but doner is a Turkish specialty and Chicago has been lacking good doner spots for seemingly forever. 

For those who have traveled Europe, particularly Germany, doner is late night food. No indication yet of hours in the new spot.

We are excited to try the offerings at the new restaurant, which adds even more diversity to the Argyle corridor. Menu items will include doner, fresh pide, shawarma, iskender kebab and other "traditional Turkish dishes."

                            

Image Courtesy of Reader "TL"

Turkish Doner will be at 1007 W. Argyle. We presume it's in the licensing process since there is no license as of yet. 

Explore the History of the Uptown Theatre By Buying This Book

James "Andy" Pierce and Robert Loerzel's The Uptown: Chicago's Endangered Movie Place, is hitting the big time, as the book is now available on Barnes and Noble Dot Com. 

If you are frugal but want to support the authors' amazing work, the book is $10 cheaper from the publisher's site.

Johnson Administration Seeks to Erase the Debt Attached to Two Uptown Buildings

The Leland Apartments at Leland & Racine (Google)

Two proposals were introduced at city council yesterday that would wipe the debt owed on two affordable buildings in Uptown clean - a total of nearly $4,000,000.

The Leland Apartments at 1207 W. Leland (at Racine) currently has a loan of around $2M according to a Chicago Reader article from November. The Chicago Department of Housing is petitioning to have that debt removed and have the building released from its regulatory agreement in order to eventually transfer the property to Mercy Housing. 

Despite the potential removal of the mortgage hurdle, the building has been in dire need of renovation for years and needs to be brought in compliance with the city's "Life Safety Ordinance." Not sure that Mercy has plans to fix that, and how the building was never forced to comply, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

The building was previously for sale late last year, but no affordable developers placed a bid, in large part due to the life safety issues. Failure to comply with the LSO has led to deadly consequences in the past. 

The San Miguel Apartments at 907 W. Argyle (Google)

The San Miguel Apartments (located at 907 W. Argyle) is also petitioning city council to have their debt of $1.75M forgiven. The request includes a change in the income restriction on the units. If the request is granted, and we are sure it will be, the building would transfer ownership from Heartland Alliance to Chicago Metro Housing Development Corporation.

While it's an objectively good thing that affordable housing options in Uptown may be preserved (and Uptown remains far and away the city leader in that category), we were hoping for a better plan for the Leland, where building and living conditions have been an issue for years. A simple transfer from Heartland to Mercy is only the first step - we're hoping that Mercy is prepared to take on the several millions required to bring the building up to code. 

By law, the life safety issues should have been fixed years ago, so maybe the City Inspector General should look into this before we wipe away a $2 million mortgage?

A Pizza Pie

 *sounds best in Mario voice.

If you like Ragadan, you're in for a treat.

Ragadan's owner and chef Daniel Sweis has been busy working late at night turning the old Miso Restaurant into "A Pizza Pie," his new foray into pizza making. (No website as of yet).

We first noticed some work ongoing at Miso in early April, and a small "A Pizza Pie" sign appeared shortly after. Some detective work led us to Ragadan, and the rest is, as they say, history.

We hadn't published since we had no official confirmation of the opening, but it appears they are soft open today (menu at the link). More information as we receive it, but it appears the official opening date is June 3.  

A Pizza Pie is at 4449 N. Broadway.

Two New Women-Led Businesses Opening In Uptown

Two new women-led businesses focusing on the youth of Uptown are celebrating double ribbon cuttings on Saturday, May 17!

Morgan Maxon, founder of My Art House Studio, will celebrate the grand opening of her new home at 1255 W. Wilson (between Magnolia and Malden) with a ribbon cutting, meet and greet, refreshments and a free open play for kids under 8. The fun starts on Saturday, May 17 at 3PM sharp!

The goal of My Art House studio is to create kind, strong and confident kids through dance, art and creative movement.

Another business is celebrating its new home in a newly refreshed retail space at 4755 N. Sheridan. 

Kuumba Lynx, a hip-hop arts and education organization founded by Jaquanda Villegas, Leida Garcia-Mukwacha, and Jacinda Bullie, has called Uptown home since 1996. They are excited to be moving into their new home on Sheridan which will be known as the "Kuumba Lynx Arts & Healing Center."

Ribbon cutting will start on Saturday, May 17 at 2PM with an open house until 6PM.

Argyle's Renaissance Continues: 1101 W. Argyle Scores Building Permit

1101 W. Argyle (Compass Architecture)

We told you about the plans for the 6 story development at 1101 W. Argyle (at Winthrop) back in November 2023. 

As with most things city-related, it moved at a turtle's pace.

We are happy to report that a building permit was finally issued yesterday for a 5 story building (Eds.: possibly removing the 6th floor setback seen in this rendering?) with 16 new units. 

There will still be a ground floor retail space and interior parking for 8 vehicles. The project is listed with an estimated cost of $5,000,000.

The parcel has been cleared for some time now so we expect construction to begin very soon. 

We look forward to welcoming new residential and commercial neighbors to Argyle soon!

Circ Esteem Collects an Award

CircEsteem's recently remodeled exterior at 4730 N. Sheridan (Instagram)

Two Uptown rehabilitation projects have been awarded 2025 Preservation Excellence awards by the City of Chicago!

Circ Esteem's rehabilitation of the formerly closed off space at 4730 N. Sheridan created a bright and inviting facade true to the building's original design. Restoration of the original window bays allows passerby to see the circus students inside, and a gut rehab of the interior has transformed the space into what we expect will be a community anchor for years to come. 

Gunnison Lofts took advantage of Chicago Adopt-A-Landmark funds and completed a beautiful exterior renovation of the Art Deco style building at 1215 W. Gunnison (at Broadway).

Great work and congratulations!

Woo-ee YooYee!

If you haven't seen or heard yet, Thai Pastry moved to Argyle (taking over the Hong Ngu spot). Same great food and people, new location. 

Courtesy Google

The old Thai Pastry location at 4925 N. Broadway now has a recently opened and VERY hot newcomer in the space named YooYee. [Warning: food pics at the link so don't open while hungry.]

YooYee features Sichuan cuisine, and from reviews on Yelp, Google and Reddit, the kitchen is knocking it out of the park. It's on our shortlist to try soon.