HYDE PARK — A vacant insurance office will be transformed into a $1.5 million kitchen ready to put out 60,000 meals a week for the University of Chicago.
When Bon Appetit signed a deal to become the university's food vendor in 2016, it committed to buying from South Side businesses and preparing food close to the Hyde Park campus, which necessitated a new kitchen.
That kitchen is now under construction in a building the university bought from State Farm Insurance in 2004 at 5245 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Bonnie Powell, a spokeswoman for Bon Appetit, said the kitchen is scheduled to open in two months.
“We are overseeing a complete renovation down to the studs, adding the necessary drainage, venting, heating and cooling, plumbing etc., in order to make this a state-of-the-art production kitchen able to support our serving 60,000 from-scratch meals per week at University of Chicago,” Powell said.
Building permits list an estimated $1.5 million in construction costs.
The last plans for the building came in 2014, when it was to become the rehearsal space for Court Theatre.
The change in plans has expanded the theater’s footprint at the former American Taxi Services building at 5608 S. Stony Island.
“The university ended up being very generous to us with space,” said Zach Davis, the general manager for the theater.
He said the theater now has approximately 40 percent of the space previously used for the university’s facilities services and the theater has new rehearsal room, carpentry and scene shops and offices and a kitchen in the building.