On Feb. 6, Forest Park police visited USA Beverage Company — the liquor store in the historic building at the corner of Madison and Harlem — to deliver an official notice of condemnation for the business and property, which includes apartments upstairs. Then, the fire department secured the building with padlocks and shut off its water.
Property concemned notice on south door of USA Beverage Building on Sunday February 15, 2026 | Todd Bannor 
Entrance to USA Beverage Company store padlocked due to building condemnation on Sunday February 15, 2026 | Todd Bannor 
North wall of condemned USA Beverage Company building on Sunday February 15, 2026 | Todd Bannor 
South wall of condemned USA Beverage Company Building with derilect car in parking lot on Sunday February 15, 2026 | Todd Bannor
Through the village can move to demolish the building at 7200 Madison St., it is first looking to have the owners make necessary repairs.
According to building inspection records obtained by the Review through the Freedom of Information Act, an inspection this January revealed that the building’s fire alarm system and many smoke detectors are disabled because of water damage, that exterior exits are blocked with materials, there’s defective or exposed electrical wiring, plus holes in ceilings, floors and walls. According to the inspector, the building is not approved for occupancy and “has many violations that have not been corrected in years. Structural engineers are required to evaluate structure for safety.”
Inspection records from 2017 show the village gave the building’s previous owner a long list of violations that needed to be corrected, including the installation of a whole-building fire alarm system and to rehab apartment units in order for them to be OK’d for occupancy. While many repairs were completed, the previous owner neglected to replace the building’s roof, fixtures on the top floor and multiple areas on the exterior that need brick and mortar repair.
In order for the building to no longer be considered condemned, “the building owners need to ensure the building is structurally sound,” Village Administrator Rachell Entler told the Review in an email.
Chirag Patel is listed as an owner in inspection records but did not return a request for comment by publication. If and when the owners or contractors need to access the building, they will need to contact the fire department to unlock it.
In recent years, “staff has repeatedly told the owners to fix the hole in the roof,” Entler said of an opening that’s existed for over two years. “Water damage from the unrepaired hole in the roof has led to additional damage that has now affected the structural integrity of the building, which is why the village issued the condemnation order.” Entler added that many of the upstairs windows have been open for years for ventilation and to prevent mold.
7200 Madison St. has long marked a historical intersection in Forest Park. In 1898, Nick Shank’s original saloon, later called Fuch’s Hall, was built at the address. Then, a pharmacy occupied the corner for 72 years.
Condemning a building is a rare occurrence in Forest Park.
“Condemnation does not happen often,” Entler said. The last building she remembers the village condemning was the former Roos Building, now the site of the park district’s Roos Recreation Center. “A microburst had come through town and damaged the north wall so badly that village officials determined it was unsafe and issued a condemnation order.”