A Whole Foods Market is in development at 2280 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Logan Square, taking over a building that has sat empty since the Family Dollar store there closed in 2023. The site will be a smaller-format store, following the grocery chain's broader push into denser city neighborhoods.
A Whole Foods spokesperson confirmed the development on Tuesday but provided no additional details, according to Block Club Chicago. Ald. Daniel La Spata said the Logan Square location will be a smaller-format store, part of a company strategy to put grocers within walking distance of transit. “The opportunity to step off the train and into a grocery store is a great one for our residents,” La Spata said, adding that he is excited to see more transit-oriented grocers coming to the 1st Ward.
Family Dollar served the Logan Square community for more than 25 years before the store closed, according to the same report. At a separate nearby, 10,739-square-foot building, Dollar Tree had operated since 2015, with Family Dollar operating there for seven years before that. The roughly 30,000-square-foot building has needed significant rehabilitation work, though it received an updated brick facade and roof upgrades earlier this year.
Permits Filed, But Not Yet Approved
A building permit was issued in April, and crews were seen working at the site over the summer. Two additional building-work permits — covering a roof replacement and a broader renovation — were submitted to the city in October, though neither had been approved as of publication, per Block Club Chicago's reporting. The renovation permit includes new facade openings, interior remodeling and outdoor landscaping.
The developer behind the project purchased the Logan Square building in 2018 and was weighing whether to redevelop or sell the lot as of 2023, the station reports.
A Neighboring Deal Also Reshapes the Block
Just down the street, a separate but related transaction is reshaping the retail corridor. A nearby Dollar Tree building had been on the market since 2024 before Shapack Partners LLC bought the Logan Square site for $5.6 million in April, following the firm's purchase of the Dollar Tree building itself for $2.2 million in March. That Dollar Tree location closed the weekend before Block Club Chicago's story published; a Dollar Tree spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, the outlet reported.
The one-story former Dollar Tree building measures 10,739 square feet, and Shapack Partners plans to subdivide the commercial space there to bring in new businesses. The firm, which acquires, redevelops and leases Chicago properties, was also involved in the revamp of Fulton Market's retail district, according to Block Club Chicago.
Part of a Citywide Daily Shop Rollout
The Logan Square project lands amid a wider expansion of Whole Foods' smaller-format Daily Shop concept. The company announced in May that Daily Shop stores would open in Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia over the next two years, according to a Whole Foods Market news release. The company said opening dates for each location would be announced later.
Whole Foods has signed a lease for a Daily Shop at 1200 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, the company said, and that site is planned for a former CVS location. The Logan Square store will sit close to that Wicker Park location. As Grocery Dive reports, Daily Shop stores are designed to carry fresh produce, meat and seafood, prepared foods, bakery items and 365 private-label products in a streamlined footprint. Whole Foods launched the concept in New York City in 2024 and has since expanded to locations across the New York metro area, Hoboken, Arlington and London, the outlet notes.
Trader Joe's Also Eyeing the Neighborhood
Whole Foods isn't the only grocer circling Logan Square. Trader Joe's could open its first Logan Square store at 2053 N. Milwaukee Ave. next year, a location just a few blocks from the incoming Whole Foods, according to Block Club Chicago's reporting. The move is part of a broader expansion for Trader Joe's across Chicago.
