Landscaping rules delay Edison Park grocery store project, as efforts made to save parking spaces 

by BRIAN NADIG

A permit to start the interior demolition of the former Happy Foods grocery store at 6783 N. Northwest Hwy. in Edison Park was issued last month, while a permit for the buildout of the new EP Market on the site has been pending since December.

At issue is the approval of a landscaping plan, which regulates the location of fencing, planters, trees and other green space elements.

Under city rules fencing might have to be as much as about 8 feet from the property line, reducing the size of a parking lot, according 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano’s chief of staff Chris Vittorio. These rules can be triggered when new buildings are being constructed or existing ones, as in this case, are going through major renovations.

“They would lose a lot of parking,” he said, adding green space requirements would take away additional spaces.

“They want to keep the parking (approximately three dozen spaces) as it is, so they had to get creative,” Vittorio said.

The city Department of Planning and Development allows for construction permit applicants to negotiate alternatives, including the placement of planter boxes next to the building instead of in the parking lot and the planting of trees in the parkway, Vittorio said. Efforts also are being made to include some landscape elements in the parking lot without reducing the total number of spaces, he added.

The issuance of the interior demolition permit will allow for preparation work to start prior to these main permit being issued, Vittorio said. It is estimated that the final permit could be issued in a few weeks and that the build out of the new store could be completed before the end of summer, he said.

The permit calls for new accessible bathrooms, a new bakery, a cafe, a taqueria, a new drop ceiling with LED lights and new plumbing, electrical and mechanical system.

The Happy Foods on Northwest Highway closed in 2022. 

The site was home to Edison Park Foods until Dick Taylor, then-owner of Happy Foods Edgebrook, purchased it in 1990. The Happy Foods at 6415 N. Central Ave. remains open.

The EP Market will be located across from a planned 82-unit apartment complex at 6754 N. Northwest Hwy., where the former M.J. Suerth Funeral Home will be demolished. The project’s developer also owns the former Happy Foods site, which is being leased to the store’s future operators.

(photo by Rob Mandik)

• 
  Police search for reported suspects after exchange of gunfire between group and security guard working at Jefferson Park CTA terminal
  A private security guard working at the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave., reportedly returned fire after a group of three people started harassing him and then fired their guns toward him during an incident at about 5:15 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, according to Chicago police. Officers reported finding 23 shell casings and
• 
  Man stabbed on CTA Blue Line near Harlem Ave.; suspects arrested in connection with car break-in on Victoria; man steals from car at gas station in Forest Glen
  A man was stabbed in his hand at about 4:50 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10, on a CTA Blue Line train near the Harlem station, 5550 N. Harlem Ave., after a man with a knife allegedly stole his belongings and attacked him, according to 16th (Jefferson Park) District police. The 31-year-old man reported that he was
• 
  45th Ward Dems endorse S Gronkiewicz-Doran for alderperson
  by BRIAN NADIG 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Michael Rabbitt and his Dems 45 organization have endorsed Jefferson Park resident S Gronkiewicz-Doran in the ward’s aldermanic race, which will be held on Feb. 23, 2027. Incumbent Alderman James Gardiner, who is on leave from his firefighting job while he serves on the City Council, is seeking
• 
  New business in the works for former CVS site at Milwaukee & Lawrence in Jefferson Park
  by BRIAN NADIG A new business, possibly a daycare, is in the works for the former CVS Pharmacy at the southeast corner of Milwaukee and Lawrence avenues. The pharmacy closed in January of 2020, but CVS reportedly continued to pay rent for several years after the store’s closing. The site includes an approximately 10,000-square-foot building
• 
  Gunfire reported at Jefferson Park CTA Terminal on Saturday morning
  by BRIAN NADIG A possible suspect is in custody after gunfire was reported at or near the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave., at about 5:20 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, according to Chicago police. Officers recovered four shell casings, and detectives are reviewing area surveillance footage, according to police. It’s not clear at

This is just part of today’s coverage. Get the full story - every article, every ad, every page. Subscribe now.

The Latest From Our Community