LOGAN SQUARE — The Dill Pickle Food Co-Op move into its new much bigger home on Milwaukee Avenue is coming along thanks to a significant funding boost from its owners.
The co-op has plans to move to a new location more than six times larger than its current building and is still seeking public input from its ownership base as well as the rest of the neighborhood as to what the store should carry and look like.
The $2.5 million project was originally proposed to open in the early spring at 2746 N. Milwaukee Ave., but that date has been pushed back to late summer or early fall.
As part of the planning process, the co-op is hoping to raise $1 million in "owner loans" to help pay for the $2.5 million project.
The owner loan campaign requires a minimum $1,000 loan, which will be paid back in between five to nine years with an interest rate between zero and four percent.
So far more than 80 owners have loaned a total of about $250,000 toward the goal.
Several have given between $10,000 and as high as $30,000 toward the project, according to Kevin Monahan, president of the Dill Pickle board of directors.
"[The loan program] is something unique to co-ops as we try to grow small businesses in the city and elsewhere," he said.
Monahan said the co-op hopes to reach its $1 million loan goal in the next quarter.
The additional $1.5 million needed for the project has already been promised in the form of a traditional commercial loan.
The Dill Pickle Co-Op is owned and governed by its 1,700 members who are planning a neighborhood night this Thursday to gather feedback for the ongoing planning process.
The meeting will be held at the new 10,000-square-foot location directly next to the Spaulding entrance of the Logan Square Blue Line stop.
The co-op's current space at 3039 W. Fullerton Ave. is 1,300 square feet for comparison.
The new co-op will expand its offerings to include a deli, beer and wine selection and a community room on the corner of Spaulding and Milwaukee.
Thursday night's meeting will be both a chance for neighborhood residents to learn about the co-op, which opened in 2009, and how it works.
The meeting will also be a chance for owners and community members to talk about what products they want to see on the shelves, what types of programs should be offered and what the space should look like.
"[The new location] is pretty raw right now, but that's a good thing in a way," Monahan said.
The co-op plans to add a lot more windows, and thus light, a prominent community room and parking spaces for about 10 vehicles in the back of the storefront off the alley.
There are also plans for bike parking, but nothing is finalized yet.
"We've got two bus lines and the train right outside our doorstep, so that's incredible," Monahan said.
Thursday's open house meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be a presentation from co-op leadership at 7 p.m.
"We want to hear from everyone how to do this right," Monahan said. "How to serve the community in the best way with this wonderful storefront."
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