Fans of Rabid Brewing showed up at the April 22 Homewood Board of Trustees meeting in a group that filled the meeting room to standing-room-only to show support for the local craft brewer’s bid to buy and redevelop the Park West Plaza.
Nine of them spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, and their individual voices had a unified message for the board: Choose Rabid’s bid to acquire and redevelop the aging shopping strip on 183rd Street, commonly known as the location of the Great American Bagel shop.
The show of support was prompted by the announcement that two competing bids had been submitted to the village with proposals to buy and redevelop the same property at 3003-3025 W. 183rd St.
Rabid has been pursuing the property since February 2024, when it entered into a letter of intent with the village. At the time, owners Raiye Rosado and Tobias Cichon described the relocation and development of Rabid Public House as an “expansion and a metamorphosis” of their business that would triple their staff size and allow them to extend hours of operation.
The property they are seeking is in a tax increment finance district, and by state law, when a municipality receives an offer to buy property it owns in a TIF district, it has to advertise for alternate bids in a local newspaper of record.
In the past, alternate bids rarely were submitted. However, in 2024, when the village received a proposal to buy its property at 2018-2020 Ridge Road, trustees Allisa Opyd and Lauren Roman urged village staff to more assertively advertise the opportunity to improve the chances of finding a viable local bidder.
In that case, two alternate bids were submitted by the deadline. The board eventually followed the staff recommendation to sell the property to the original bidder, Grace Cui, who is in the process of developing a Mongolian barbecue restaurant.
Staff followed the same process for the Park West Plaza property, posting the call for alternate bids in mid-March in a newspaper and on the village website and social media pages.
The two alternate bids submitted by the April 8 deadline were from VMB Ventures LLC and from a partnership between Caton Commercial Real Estate Group and Granite Real Estate Partners.
VMB proposes to remodel the building, keeping its current seven-unit format, and would seek to add a Middle Eastern themed coffee shop, a dermatologist, a Boba Tea shop and a Mediterranean restaurant.
The Caton/Granite partnership proposes to remodel the building and divide it into nine units. The initial proposal did not specify target tenants.
All three proposals include retention of the current tenants.
Rabid Brewing, which opened in its current location on Bretz Drive in October 2017 has developed a loyal following in spite of its out-of-the-way location a block east of the busy Halsted business corridor.
Patrons at the meeting extolled the welcoming atmosphere and the strong sense of community provided by owners Rosado and Cichon. The business is known, too, for its distinctive events, including Box Battle Bash, which invites patrons to build cardboard armor and weapons to do battle and the Feast of the Goat Queen.
The owners led the group of supporters into village hall just before the meeting began, but they let their fans do the talking.
Kristen Salkas of Homewood said Rabid Brewing was a haven for her during a difficult time in her life and credited Rosado with helping her get through it.
“I think this is one of the easiest decisions that the village can make,” she said, urging the board to choose “a local business that has proven how valuable they are to the community in so many ways, a business … that fills a gap in this community that no other business can fill. Rabid Brewing is so important to so many of us.”
Jonathan Kalin lauded the values of connection, diversity and inclusiveness embodied by the business.
“Rabid is not just a brewery, it is a sanctuary where people of all ethnicities, genders and backgrounds come together to celebrate our shared humanity,” he said. “It’s a space where ideas flow as fully as craft beer, fostering creativity, dialogue and unity. Rabid Brewing is more than a business. It’s a pillar of the community.”
Village staff members currently are evaluating the three bids according to the same criteria used to select winning bids in the past, including best use of the property, yield in terms of economic impact, job creation and best fit in the impact on municipal services and relationship with businesses in the surrounding area.
Economic and Community Development Director Angela Mesaros said staff plans to present a recommendation to the board at its May 27 meeting.
Related stories:
- Homewood trustees approve preliminary step in Rabid Brewing’s proposed move to west side location (Feb. 20, 2024).
- Rabid Brewing anticipation to pay off Friday as grand opening begins (Oct. 10, 2017).
Proposals:
