The arrival of Logan Square’s mini Target, originally set for this week, may have to wait, as the company said that it can’t predict when planned Chicago openings will happen. As coronavirus shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders roil businesses across the country, Target said it can’t say when it will activate those automatic, sliding-glass doors on its new locations.
“As external circumstances continue to evolve, there will naturally be some delays and shifts,” the company said in a statement about planned Chicago stores. “And we don’t yet have details on when we’ll be ready to open new stores that have been scheduled for this year.”
The Logan Square “small-format” Target (2434 N. Sacramento Ave.), originally set to open Sunday, April 5, will reside in the Logan Apartments complex on Milwaukee and Sacramento Avenues. That complex, with construction ongoing as of Thursday, April 2, occupies the former Megamall site. It had planned to open in March. With mini Target as a retail anchor, the Logan Apartments complex will also include Jersey’s Mike’s Subs, Big Wig Tacos, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and a Verizon store, Block Club reported.
On Thursday, the new Target’s main doors included no signage announcing a grand opening date.
Your Happy Place Still Eyes Grocery ‘Soft Opening’
Across Milwaukee Avenue, however, at least one more grocery option still aims to come to the neighborhood as scheduled in this springtime of enforced home-cooking. Green Grocer Chicago still plans to move into Your Happy Place Liquors (2501 N. Milwaukee Ave.) this week. The partnership will add a selection of healthy organic groceries to the back fourth of the mescal-focused liquor store and art space.
Though originally pegged to the mini Target’s opening, the Green Grocer arrival may still happen as scheduled, on April 5, said Dileep Gangoli, co-owner, with his wife, Janice, of Green Grocer. “However, it may have to be a ‘soft’ opening because of the virus,” he said.
The uncertainties hanging over all businesses these days, however, limit his confidence in those plans, too, Gangoli added. “Since I am depending on movers, stores being open, and the overall slowdown of doing normal business, I cannot promise anything,” he said.
Green Grocer’s partnership with Your Happy Place foresees a small grocery footprint focused on selling regional cheese, meat and produce. Gangoli said the two stores saw the rising apartment complex, planned to host 220 units, as a potential source of increased business. They also wanted to serve as an alternative to the Target. “We think that we’re doing something unique and something that Logan Square residents might find more appealing,” Gangolli told LoganSquarist previously.
Your Happy Place, by the way, announced this week that it’s now selling digital gift cards, to help the store weather the current environment. Check out this article for a list of other businesses selling gift cards online, a list of online fundraisers for service staff and other ways to help out the neighborhood. Your Happy Place also welcomes pick-up and delivery orders at 773-414-1241.
New Target Would Bring Needed Groceries, CVS
The planned Logan Square mini Target could offer the neighborhood another vital resource in these toilet-paper-hoarding and shelter-in-place days. That makes any delays in the opening somewhat ironic, even if understandable. Logan’s small-format Target will offer “a robust grocery selection,” the company said in a 2018 press release. That could provide Loganites with another stock-up option as grocery shelves get raided in the area.
And with an in-store CVS, the new Target will add one more option for fulfilling prescriptions and getting those flu and pain medications we all need on hand these days. The store’s Target.com Order Pickup counter would come at a time when shoppers want to get in and out of stores as quickly as possible.
Target said, in the company statement, that it aims to meet community needs as best it can during the current crisis.
“In the face of the current coronavirus situation, Target’s team and business are playing a vital role, ensuring our stores are safe, stocked and ready to serve communities across America,” the company said.
Logan Square’s mini Target will be the 12th small-format Target in the city. The upcoming Logan store hosted a job fair (at the 2656 N. Elston Ave. Target) in February, planning to hire about 70 employees. You can still apply online for Target jobs in Chicago.
Featured photo: Logan Square mini Target doors 4-2-20. Photo: Michael Dhar
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