Oct. 20, 2021 - Chicago, IL - The iconic former Granville Pictures storefront at 6200 Broadway in Edgewater is getting a second life with a holiday pop-up from local business City Grange.
For nearly 90 years a framing shop occupied the NW corner of Granville and Broadway in the historic Edgewater neighborhood. The building's iconic, art deco signage is a beloved Edgewater landmark.
The storefront, empty since the framing owner closed shop on September 30, 2017, has been vacant while the owners, Silver Property Group, searched for a new tenant that would respect the vintage charm, history of the location and original art deco signage.
Local business, City Grange will be utilizing the space for a holiday plant and gift pop-up from October 28 - December 21. It hopes the concept store will garner neighborhood wide support and provide City Grange the opportunity to open a full-time plant shop in March of 2022 after repairs are done to the interior of the building.
"I'm a sucker for a faded beauty of a building with stories to tell and new lives to live," says City Grange owner, LaManda Joy. "Our other locations in Lincoln Square (5500 N Western Ave) and Beverly (1818 W 99th) are both circa 1920s auto body shops that we've brought back to life with our garden centers."
"I lived in Edgewater for a decade and love the sign on the 6200 Broadway building. And I've been eyeballing the location since it went vacant a few years ago. We were looking for the right neighborhood for our third City Grange location. The owners (Silver Property Group) were great to work with so we thought we'd try a plant shop pop-up and see if the neighborhood thought we were a worthy 'second business' to occupy this venerable space."
The City Grange Holiday Pop-up will be open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am-6pm from October 28 to December 21. A ribbon cutting is scheduled on Thursday, October 28 at 1pm with an opportunity to meet the owner, staff and local officials.
"We are thrilled to welcome the City Grange team to Edgewater," says Edgewater Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Christina Pfitzinger. "Their new retail concept accentuates the bustling corner's historic charm and will provide both playful and diverse product offerings to the community for the holidays."
About City Grange:
City Grange is the country's first education based garden center brand. City Grange believes the "world is a better place with more gardeners in it" and provides education, pesticide free and organic plants, tools and supplies as well as award winning landscaping services to help their customers succeed. Their first location opened in Lincoln Square in 2019. Their second location opened in Beverly in 2020. Chicago Reader's Best of 2020 recognized City Grange landscaping services and TimeOut Chicago recently noted them as one of the Top 10 Plant Shops in Chicago.
About Founder/Owner, LaManda Joy:
LaManda Joy is an author and national speaker, Illinois Extension Master Gardener, Founder and former Executive Director of the award winning nonprofit garden education organization Peterson Garden Project, Founder of the national virtual education event the Great Grow Along (year two scheduled for March 2022) and Founder/Owner of City Grange.
