Good Earth Still Wants to Come to Galewood — Even After Backing Out of the Former McDonald's Site
By Socialhood News · Galewood ·
It was one of the most anticipated business announcements to hit Galewood in years: Good Earth, a fifth-generation family-owned greenhouse, garden supply store, fresh market, and café, was coming to the long-vacant former McDonald's building at 1933 N. Harlem Ave. Then came the inspection report — and now the deal is off. But the story isn't over.
Block Club Chicago reported on October 8 that Good Earth has pulled out of its plans to purchase the 1933 N. Harlem Ave. property after completing an internal inspection of the building. The family-run business, which has been operating since 1928 and currently runs a location in River Forest, had been announced as coming to the Galewood site — generating real excitement among residents who have watched that corner sit empty and wanted to see it become something genuinely useful and green.
"Our plan was to refurbish the former McDonald's building for our small, family business," Good Earth manager Regan Cronin said in a statement to Block Club Chicago. "But we encountered a few challenges to that plan and, as a result, had to take a step back." Cronin had previously spoken directly with residents at a 29th Ward community meeting in April, where the business's arrival in Galewood had been formally announced — making this week's news a disappointment for everyone who showed up that day and got excited about what Good Earth could bring to the block.
What Good Earth had proposed was genuinely compelling for a neighborhood that has worked hard to attract the right kind of commercial investment: a greenhouse, a garden supply shop, a fresh market, and a café all under one roof. For a community that values green space, local character, and alternatives to chain retail, Good Earth fit the profile almost perfectly. The River Forest location has built a loyal following, and a West Side outpost would have extended that reach into a part of the city that doesn't have many comparable options.
The critical detail — and the reason this story isn't simply a loss — is that Good Earth hasn't given up on Galewood or the broader West Side. According to Block Club's reporting, the family-owned business is still looking to open a West Side location, even though this particular building didn't work out. The gap between a promising announcement and a signed lease is one that community advocates and Alderman Chris Taliaferro (29th) will now have to help bridge, whether that means identifying another suitable site on the Harlem Avenue corridor or elsewhere in the 29th Ward.
For residents, the situation is a useful reminder of how complicated commercial real estate can be, even when the will is there on both sides. The former McDonald's site has sat vacant long enough that its condition was always going to be a variable — and building inspections have a way of revealing what enthusiasm can obscure. The fact that Good Earth proceeded carefully, conducted due diligence, and made a responsible call rather than pushing forward into a problematic building is actually a sign of a business that operates thoughtfully. That's exactly the kind of operator Galewood would want as a neighbor.
The 1933 N. Harlem Ave. site is now back in play. What fills it next — and how quickly — will depend on the energy that the community, the alderman's office, and prospective businesses bring to the search. Galewood has demonstrated, repeatedly and recently, that it knows how to show up and make its priorities heard. If Good Earth is still serious about finding a West Side home, residents who want to see that happen should make that known — to the alderman's office, to Galewood Neighbors, Inc. at galewoodneighbors.org, and directly to the business itself. Sometimes the right deal just needs a little more time and the right building to come together.
Sources:
1. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/08/garden-center-drops-plans-to-open-at-former-galewood-mcdonalds-but-doesnt-rule-out-neighborhood/