LINCOLN PARK — Mrs. Green's Natural Market appears to be gearing up to reopen its only Chicago location, if the issuance of a new city permit is any indication.
After just two years of business, the New York-based grocery store closed its Lincoln Park location, 555 W. Webster Ave., last July with plans to renovate and downsize. A small coffee shop opened inside, but the grocery store has sat empty ever since.
That might change soon, though. A city permit for $764,000 in interior and exterior renovations was issued to the grocery store July 19, according to city records.
Mrs. Green's Natural Market did not respond to messages seeking comment.
According to the Tribune, the grocery store is locked into a 20-year lease at the location and has been losing $20,000 a week as it sits empty.
Mrs. Green's operates 15 stores, mostly on the East Coast, that focus on natural and organic products. In January, the chain opened a location in suburban Winnetka.
The Lincoln Park location sits right at the corner of Webster Avenue, Lincoln Avenue and Larrabee Street, across the street from the Webster Square condos — a slow-moving project that has been under construction for several years. Presales started last summer, but crews are still at work finishing the exterior.
"I think there is a black hole or something at Lincoln and Webster slowing time and indirectly all construction," one neighbor remarked on Reddit.
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