The building at 1639 N. Wells St. has had no grocery tenant since Treasure Island closed in 2018. On Aug. 31, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) announced that Whole Foods Market had signed a lease for the space, according to Block Club Chicago. Next, Whole Foods and the property owner will design the store, get permits and plan construction.
The lease came out of a zoning compromise over a 36-story apartment tower at North Avenue and LaSalle Drive, and that deal ties the old grocery building to a redevelopment covering several blocks of Wells Street.
The grocery store was a condition of the tower deal
Treasure Island opened its Wells Street store in 1972, when Old Town was still Chicago's center of bohemian counterculture. CBS Chicago recalled that Julia Child once called the chain "America's most European supermarket." The whole chain went out of business in October 2018. Some of its stores found new lives: the Hyde Park store became a Trader Joe's, and the original Broadway store was torn down for an apartment building. The Wells Street store stayed empty.
Here's how the lease came together:
- October 2018. Treasure Island closes every store, including 1639 N. Wells.
- 2023. Developer Fern Hill signs a letter of intent with Commissary Market, a local grocer, which was expected to move to Wells Street after closing its longtime Gold Coast store. That plan falls through.
- Feb. 2025. Hopkins backs a scaled-back version of Fern Hill's tower at North Avenue and LaSalle Drive. The project drops from 500 units to 349 and from 480 feet to 379. The Plan Commission approves it on Feb. 20.
- April 30, 2025. City Council approves Old Town Canvas at 1600 N. LaSalle.
- Aug. 31, 2026. Hopkins announces the Whole Foods lease at 1639 N. Wells.
While Fern Hill was seeking approval for the tower, Hopkins required the developer to find a grocery tenant for the old Treasure Island building. Block Club reported that this was part of the compromise. Hopkins put it plainly in his statement: "From the beginning of the redevelopment review, I was clear that restoring a full-service grocery store to this location had to be a priority."
Ray Clark, president of the Old Town Triangle Association, said in a statement quoted by Block Club Chicago that "Old Town residents have consistently emphasized the importance of returning a full-service grocery store to this location." Those years of neighborhood pressure became the price of approval for a building at a different address.
The tower and the grocery store change the same few blocks
Old Town Canvas, as approved, is a 379-foot tower with 349 apartments, 70 of them designated affordable. It has ground-floor retail, including a new home for the Walgreens. Chicago YIMBY reported that the tower replaces the current Walgreens building at 1601 N. Wells and its parking lot.
The 2025 compromise kept the rest of the plan in place. The BP and Shell gas stations near North and LaSalle will be torn down, and the neighboring Moody Church campus will expand. Block Club also reported that Walgreens agreed to a 75-year lease extension, so the pharmacy at North and Wells is staying. It will be in a new building.
On a map, the deal covers a short stretch of Wells Street: the Walgreens corner at 1601, the grocery building at 1639, and the gas station corners just west on LaSalle. The grocery store came out of the same negotiation as the tower, but it doesn't share its building. In a news release quoted by CBS Chicago, Hopkins added, "There is still work ahead, but the signed lease is a concrete and welcome step forward."
A second Whole Foods about a mile from the first
The new store will have a neighbor. Whole Foods' Lincoln Park flagship sits at 1550 N. Kingsbury St., and CBS puts it about a mile west of the Wells Street site. Its original Chicago store sat across North Avenue in the North & Sheffield Commons shopping center. CBS counts 10 Whole Foods stores in the city right now.
Old Town is also one of three North Side locations Whole Foods announced in 2026, and each one fills a vacant building. In April, the chain revealed plans for 827 W. Belmont Ave. in Lakeview, a long-vacant space in the Lakeview Connection building. That store will replace the current one at 3640 N. Halsted St. It also announced a store in Wicker Park in the former CVS at 1200 N. Ashland Ave. Wells Street came next in late August.
For Old Town, the new store adds a grocery on Wells itself while the Kingsbury store stays. A full-service market will be back on the neighborhood's main commercial street.
Where to buy groceries until 1639 N. Wells opens
Old Town's groceries have been spread across nearby blocks since 2018. Commissary Market, which was meant to fill the gap, closed its Gold Coast store at 1350 N. Lake Shore Drive in October 2023 after 45 years, Block Club reported. These are the stores within about a mile of Wells and North, with each store's posted hours:
| Store | Address | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Potash Markets | 1525 N. Clark St. | Daily; see store page |
| Jewel-Osco | 102 W. Division St. | 6 a.m. to midnight daily |
| Whole Foods Market Lincoln Park | 1550 N. Kingsbury St. | 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily |
| Mariano's | 1500 N. Clybourn Ave., Unit C104 | 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily |
| Trader Joe's | 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. | See store page |
| Target, Gold Coast | 1200 N. Larrabee St. | Open until 10 p.m. |
The stores fall along two routes. Potash on Clark is the closest to Wells. Jewel at Clark and Division has the longest hours on the list, opening at 6 a.m. and closing at midnight. West of the neighborhood, Mariano's, Trader Joe's and the Kingsbury Whole Foods sit near one another along Clybourn and Kingsbury, so you can hit two or three in one trip. Target on Larrabee is better for household basics than for a full grocery run. Potash and Trader Joe's also have downtown stores at 875 N. State St. and 44 E. Ontario St.
The same stretch of Wells this holiday season
The blocks around the old Treasure Island building fill up between now and early December. Ela Modern Greek Taverna is at 1551 N. Wells, a block south of the grocery site. Its opening was announced for Sept. 26, and its website now lists daily hours with dine-in and online pickup. Founder Shaina Hurley told What Now Chicago that Ela "is about sharing that feeling while respecting where it comes from and creating a place people can come back to often." WTTW reported that the chef grew up in his family's taverna in Greece.
Farther south, Rest + Recreation is a coffee concept in the former Patina Collection storefront at 1359 N. Wells.
The Old Town Merchants & Residents Association calendar fills in the rest of the season:
- Nov. 27 and 28: The Second City's family holiday show, Rudolph Runs Wild, plays the Chicago Mainstage. It mixes comedy, songs and audience participation.
- Nov. 28: Small Business Saturday on the Old Town calendar.
- Dec. 3, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: The Holiday Tree Lighting at Burton Place Plaza, 1447 N. Wells St.
Burton Place Plaza is farther south on the same street as 1639 N. Wells. On Dec. 3, the tree lighting will draw a crowd to that stretch of Wells, a short walk from the storefront that's waiting for its next grocer. Updates on the store, including an opening date, will come from Hopkins' office as plans are finalized.
A long-empty grocery building getting a tenant again matters to everyone who lives on these blocks, and a new grocery store, a rebuilt Walgreens and a new tower change how people use the street. If you'd like to talk about how the Wells Street and North Avenue projects fit into your own plans in Old Town, the Klopas-Stratton Team is glad to talk it through. Contact Us.
