Wicker Park 7-Eleven to Close March 15
WICKER PARK — The 7-Eleven at the northwest corner of Milwaukee and Wolcott avenues in Wicker Park plans to close on March 15, according to workers and a representative for the convenience store’s landlord.
Located at 1400 N. Milwaukee Ave., the 7-Eleven is one of four in the area (the 7-Elevens at 1658 N. Milwaukee Ave., 1508 N. Damen Ave. and 2010 N. Damen Ave. are not impacted by the departure).
“There will be 4 people losing jobs,” said a worker at the 7-Eleven who declined to be named.
David Ammann, chief financial officer for Maven Management, which oversees the property for 7-Eleven’s landlord Jeffrey Grinspoon, confirmed the store will be closing on March 15.
“Their lease was up for renewal and they chose not to renew it,” Ammann said.
No tenant has been tapped yet to replace 7-Eleven.
“We don’t know what’s going in. It will be available [for rent],” Ammann said.
It’s unclear when the 7-Eleven opened. Prasanta Ghose, a franchisee who formerly owned a 7-Eleven in Bucktown before selling it a few years ago, said the 7-Eleven at 1400 N. Milwaukee Ave. opened around 2001, before he bought his Bucktown store in 2003.
“It’s a very tough business to be in now, than it was before. You need to do very high volume,” Ghose said.
The 7-Eleven at 1400 N. Milwaukee Ave. is owned by the franchisee who also owns the 7-Eleven in Bucktown at 2010 N. Damen Ave. that Ghose formerly owned, according to Ghose. The franchisee did not return a request for comment.
Smoke accessories shop Dude, I Forgot neighbors the 7-Eleven, while the condo building’s third retail storefront, also owned by Grinspoon, is for rent, according to a listing.