LOGAN SQUARE — A liquor store could come to the strip mall at the corner of Kedzie and Armitage avenues, but not before the owner wins approval from neighbors and local aldermen.
The owner of the Subway in the strip mall is looking to open the liquor store at 3129 W. Armitage Ave., next to Z Smoke Shop, according to property owner Zia Shamoon and Ald. Daniel La Spata’s 1st Ward office.
To open the liquor store, the applicant needs aldermen to sign off on a packaged goods license and to agree to lift the liquor moratorium on Armitage Avenue between Humboldt Boulevard and Kedzie Avenue, which includes the 32nd and 1st wards.
Ald. Scott Waguespack’s 32nd Ward office recently launched an online survey that allows neighbors to weigh in on the proposal, which could have a broader impact on the neighborhood.
If Waguespack and La Spata were to lift the liquor moratorium, more liquor stores could open between Humboldt Boulevard and Kedzie Avenue, Waguespack’s office said in the survey.
But there’s another option for neighbors who approve this project but ultimately want the ban to stay in place: The aldermen could temporarily lift the liquor moratorium for the project and then impose a new liquor moratorium.
In addition to the Subway, the applicant owns Liquor Expo at 2154 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park and is under zoning review to open another liquor store at 3201 N. Southport Ave. in Lakeview called Southport Beer Wine & Spirits, according to La Spata’s office. The applicant’s name was not provided by either alderman’s office. A message left for the applicant’s attorney was not returned Tuesday.
If the applicant clears both hurdles, he will need to obtain a special use permit from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals to open the liquor store, said Nick Zettel, La Spata’s policy director.
The strip mall could get another tenant in the coming months.
The owner of a pawn shop on Fullerton Avenue in the 35th Ward is looking to relocate to the plaza, Zettel said. The owner also needs a special use permit. A Zoning Board of Appeals hearing date has not yet been set, he said.
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