A family-owned River Forest garden center business with South Side roots is coming to the site of a long-vacant building in Galewood.
Good Earth, featuring a greenhouse, fresh market and cafe, will be coming to the site of a former McDonald’s at 1933 N. Harlem Ave., the business announced Saturday.
The fifth-generation family business began on the South Side in 1928 and since 2001 has operated a location in River Forest, known as Good Earth Greenhouse. Good Earth’s plans for the site come after community members rejected a proposed five-story rental development at the lot in July and another failed plan for a car wash in 2023.
Renderings show a renovation of the lot’s existing building to house a retail space as well as a new outdoor garden center behind the building, an expansion of existing patio and the building a new 3,000-square-foot greenhouse beside the building.
A rendering of Good Earth, a business featuring a greenhouse, fresh market and cafe, announced to be coming to the site of a closed McDonald’s on 1933 N. Harlem Avenue.
The retail space will house a market that will offer produce and other food products from local farmers, business owners said.
The Galewood location will operate similarly to Good Earth Greenhouse at 7900 Madison St. in River Forest, which features a similar setup including a garden center, florist and cafe, business owners said. The store regularly holds events celebrating the spring equinox, national puppy day and Earth Day.
Galewood neighbors can expect “premium quality plants, annuals, garden items and great service” at the new business, management said.
“We’re all about community,” Good Earth manager Regan Cronin said at a neighborhood meeting announcing the new store Saturday. “Our business is [about] making things look good, so presentation is key. We want to bring beauty to a spot that’s been vacant for years.”
Good Earth was intentional in coming to the Galewood area due to its many neighbors who are interested in gardening. Several neighbors at the meeting recognized the business from patronizing the River Forest location, Cronin said.
“Love the neighborhood. It’s fabulous. It’s got great people living here, beautiful homes and people who like to garden, who like markets,” Cronin said. “We [are bringing] a cafe and a food market there, so we have a good place for neighborhood gatherings.”
The family business was started by Cronin’s great grandfather, who opened The Egg Store in Bridgeport, which operated for more than 80 years before closing around 2010, she said.
Store officials said they want to “bring every aspect of our business that we have spent the past five generations building” to the Harlem Avenue location.
In August, a five-story, market-rate rental building was proposed by Noah Properties and would have brought around 80 apartments to the site, but these plans were met with overwhelming opposition from community members and nixed by Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th). A car wash was proposed for the location in 2023 but never moved forward, according to an Austin Weekly report.
Good Earth is in the process of seeking a zoning change to operate at the location, a measure Taliaferro said he would support. In the meantime, store officials are looking for a permit to set up a pop-up garden center at the site for this current garden season.
Taliaferro said he is excited about Good Earth’s presence in the neighborhood.
“I think this is a great opportunity, not just for the ward, but for the immediate neighborhood it sits in,” Taliaferro said. “We have to have a vibrant ward and that helps to sustain our community. … We’re taking properties that have been vacant for a long time and just trying to bring the right fit for our ward.”
For more information on Good Earth, visit goodearthgreenhouse.com.