A restaurant and bar is planned for a vacant gas station in Homewood, while an existing brewery and tap room could relocate under plans being considered by village officials.
Big Rocco’s Pizzeria & Tavern plans to open in a vacant Citgo station at the northeast corner of 183rd Street and Harwood Avenue, with village trustees approving a sale agreement this past week.
Homewood bought the site in 2021 for $40,000 from the Cook County Land Bank Authority and it has been vacant and delinquent on property taxes for several years, according to the village.
The sale agreement calls for Ultra Energy Group LLC to pay $47,500 for the property. Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld said he hoped the sale could close in two or three months.
The village has solicited offers from other potential buyers but there has been no interest, according to the village.
Big Rocco’s would have a menu that includes pizza, sandwiches and appetizers and expects to serve 200 to 300 customers each day, according to the company’s business plan.
Big Rocco’s Pizzeria & Tavern has a location in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, near Miami.
Village trustees also agreed to a tentative plan to sell the village-owned Park Plaza Center, 3003-3025 183rd Street. The center’s tenants include Great American Bagel and a State Farm agency.
Rabid Ground LLC proposes to redevelop the center, directly to the east of the shuttered Brunswick Zone bowling alley, and the village agrees to hold off marketing the property to other potential buyers for three months while Rabid conducts due diligence on a potential redevelopment.
If plans go forward, Rabid would relocate its brewery and tap room, now tucked back at 17759 Bretz Drive in the village, to the east of Halsted Street and north of Ridge Road behind Home Depot.
Homewood acquired the 183rd Street retail center last year through Cook County’s no-cash bid process.
The village plans to create a tax increment financing district that would include the strip center and Brunswick Zone, which closed abruptly in January 2015.
A TIF offers financial incentives for redevelopment of property, including developers recouping some costs related to public improvements.
At the Brunswick property, also owned by the village, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet would take over a 31,000-square-foot section of the Brunswick space at the west end of the building, replacing Big Lots, according to Hofeld.
Hofeld said a liquor store with a selection on par with Binny’s Beverage Depot, would be in the middle of the Brunswick space, taking more than 24,000 square feet, and Crunch Fitness would take 30,000 square feet at the east end of the building.
One outlot on the property close to 183rd Street would house a Starbucks coffee shop, Hofeld said.
David Bossy, president of Mid-America Development Properties, plans to redevelop the Brunswick property, he said.
Bossy had previously been with another commercial real estate company responsible for redeveloping a large segment of Homewood’s Halsted Street retail district.
