A long vacant former bank building on the western end of the Six Corners Shopping District is set to be transformed into a Binny’s Beverage Depot and the first Culver’s restaurant on the Northwest Side. Binny’s has agreed to lease the first floor of the former Bank of America building at 4901 W. Irving Park Road. The placing of a Corporate store will undermine the small-business values of the surrounding area. This will effectively monopolize the liquor and beer market in the immediate area as it is known to be near impossible for small businesses to compete with large “Big Box” stores on economic product pricing grounds alone. There are other economic factors including, but not limited to, using out of town suppliers, providing services and products citizens do not request or require or the waning of relationships with current business owners in the area.

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens who urge our leaders to act now to abort plans to allow Binny’s Beverage Depot to operate in Jefferson Park and/or Portage Park, as, we feel, large format “Big Box” stores deteriorate family-built small businesses in surrounding areas. We urge you to reconsider and find a home-grown small business to occupy this space.