After more than six years operating in an east side Homewood location tucked behind Home Depot, Rabid Brewing is exploring a move to the west side of town in a bigger, more visible site.
At the Homewood board meeting Tuesday, Feb. 13, trustees approved a letter of intent with Rabid Ground LLC outlining its plans to relocate its craft brewery to village-owned property in Park West Plaza, 3003-3025 183rd St. The village obtained the business strip in December through the Cook County No Cash Bid program.
Rabid Ground owners Raiye Rosado and Tobias Cichon gave the board a brief presentation on their plans.
Rosado described the current establishment on Bretz Drive as “a haven of joy for creatives, revolutionaries, nerds and weird ones.” She reminded trustees that the brewery has participated in many community events over the years, from village festivals and the farmers markets to Homewood Arts Council, Trail Mix, Homewood-Flossmoor Park District and GoodSpeed Cycle events.
“You may not have been to our taproom, but you know who we are,” she said.
Cichon said the move would allow the brewery and restaurant to expand food and beverage options and hours of operation. He said the staff would triple in size.
“This is both a marvelous expansion and a metamorphosis for Rabid,” he said. “Rabid Public House is the evolution of our brand and our operations.”
Rosado said the move would double the space for the craft brewery, with most of the additional space used to make more room for people.
She also pledged to continue Rabid’s signature events, which include Box Battle Bash, a chance for patrons to build armor and weapons out of cardboard in order to do battle and Rosado’s favorite, the Feast of the Goat Queen. Last year, she said, the feast attracted more than 850 “fae-costumed attendees and several cute baby goats” to the lawn adjacent to the brewery.
Developer Gene Steinmarch is shepherding the project. He told the board he developed Park West Plaza more than 30 years ago, one of 22 projects he has overseen in Homewood.
“I’ve built a lot of things in this town, and unfortunately some of them have aged out,” he said. “One of them is the shopping center referred to as Park West. It’s gotten to the point now that it needs help.”
He said the four current tenants, including American Bagel, would be invited to stay on. Rabid Public House will take up about half the space.
He also noted that he has been working with Dave Bossy, who is redeveloping the former Brunswick Zone/Big Lots building just west of Park West Plaza, to coordinate design elements.
“We’re trying to match up things like building materials, lights,” he said. “I think we can make the whole thing work together over there.”
The letter of intent gives Steinmarch 90 days to perform due diligence research on the site and negotiate a redevelopment agreement with the village. The village promises not to negotiate with other parties during that period.
The property is within the Kedzie Gateway tax increment financing district, but the village is in the process of creating a sub-TIF, the 183rd West TIF District, that would include Park West Plaza and the Brunswick/Big Lots properties. The redevelopment agreement and purchase of Park West Plaza would occur within 30 days after the 183rd West TIF is established, according to Homewood Economic Development Director Angela Mesaros.
Scenes from the Feast of the Goat Queen in 2023 at Rabid Brewing
