Meat and fruit market planned for former deli in Jefferson Park where zoning for laundromat approved earlier this year

by BRIAN NADIG

New businesses, including a meat and fruit market, could be opening later this year in the 5900 block of West Lawrence Avenue at the west end of the Jefferson Park commercial district.

A sign for “Carniceria y Fruteria El Milagrito” recently was posted in a storefront window of the former J and L European Deli, 5954-60 W. Lawrence Ave. Before the deli, the site was home to Kluza Pharmacy in the 1970s and 1990s.

Last January the property was rezoned to accommodate a 5,000-square-foot laundromat that would have had 51 washers and 70 dryers. It’s not clear if a smaller laundromat is still planned for a portion of the 7,215-square-foot building.

Also the site of the former Sicilia Bakery and Atlas Uniform, 5939-41 W. Lawrence Ave., recently sold. Several months ago the city shut down an entertainment venue on the property that reportedly was not properly licensed.

A permit for repairs to the building was issued on June 12.