RANCH TRIANGLE — A self-described "elevated corner store" won the apparent support of local residents Thursday with plans to sell beer and wine along with ice cream.
"It's a really neat concept, and it should do well on Armitage," said Michael LaVitola, co-founder of Foxtrot, which intends to open a new outlet at 900 W. Armitage Ave. on Dec. 2.
Foxtrot opened two years ago as an upscale delivery app with an outlet on Clybourn Avenue. But LaVitola said its second outlet in the West Loop had proved so successful the business was making the transition to stores over delivery.
At a community meeting Thursday evening at the St. Teresa of Avila Community Center, 1950 N. Kenmore Ave., LaVitola said it would offer "everything like at a 7-Eleven, but a better version of it," adding that would potentially mean craft beers and nice wines.
"It's not like cheap beer and 40s and liquor bottles," he said.
LaVitola laid out plans for a store and a 20-seat dining area in what used to be a bank office. The space will be divided into a store offering upscale packaged food, not for consumption on the premises, and what amounts to an ice-cream parlor featuring Jeni's Ice Cream.
He sought support for an "incidental" liquor license, meaning alcohol sales wouldn't be the main source of income, so that it can offer beer or wine that "adults can have while the kids are having ice cream."
An earlier proposal for a Walgreens to offer alcohol sales proved so controversial in the area that Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) imposed a moratorium on liquor sales on Armitage between Halsted Street and Fremont Avenue. Foxtrot would be at the corner of Armitage and Fremont, but on the other side of the street from that area.
"There's no plan to extend that moratorium," said Patty Hayes of the Sheffield Neighbors Association.
LaVitola's proposal met no opposition from about two dozen local residents in attendance at Thursday's meeting.
"I think it's a great addition to the neighborhood," said Chuck Griffin, a RANCH Triangle resident.
According to LaVitola, there will be no kitchen on site, although Jeni's does plan to offer waffles in the morning. The liquor license, if approved, would be in Foxtrot's name. There are no plans, he said, to offer outdoor seating.
It's planned to be open 7 a.m.-11 p.m. weekdays and until midnight on weekends, but LaVitola pledged to keep it quiet and respect neighbors in taking out the trash at the end of the day.
Foxtrot now seeks formal approval for a liquor license through the City Council, and Smith had a representative at the meeting saying she'd respect the community consensus.
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