LOGAN SQUARE — A neighborhood grocery store with a focus on fresh produce is opening in Logan Square near the Congress Theater this summer.
Farmers Pride, which currently has one location in West Town, plans to open its Logan Square location in July.
"It's not too big. Not too small, but you would be surprised what we can fit in our stores," said Roddy Hashish, general manager of Farmers Pride.
The upcoming shop will be at 2110 N. Milwaukee Avenue in the former Milwaukee & California Produce. Before that it was a laundromat.
The neighborhood grocery store is undergoing some remodeling, but the turnaround to open should be quick, according to Hashish.
Farmers Pride will also feature a coffee shop inside that will be operated by an already existing neighborhood coffee shop.
The two businesses are still hammering out details of their deal, and Hashish was not able to disclose the name of the coffee shop.
"It's going to be one of the bigger names in the neighborhood," he said.
The grocery store will specialize in produce, fresh meats and organic and gluten free groceries.
"You can find anything from Greek feta cheese to rice noodles," Hashish said. "You can find Doritos. You can find Donkey Chips. We have it all. We literally have it all."
Farmers Pride is applying for a license to sell alcohol, but that will not be the focus of the business, according to Hashish.
The West Town Farmers Pride, 756 N. Western Ave., opened a "beer cave" last year stocked with 200 varieties of beer.
Hashish said if the Logan Square location gets the liquor license, he views it as more of a place to grab a six pack while grocery shopping and that the business will not be advertising liquor sales.
Farmers Pride opened its West Town location 12 years ago and has been looking to expand for the past two years or so.
"Logan Square is not too different. It's changing for the better," Hashish said. "It's a great community, a lot of activity going on now. You have the 'L' tower, you have the twin towers going up. … We are right there in the middle and I think we should be all right there.”
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