HUMBOLDT PARK — An increasingly popular block in Humboldt Park is slated for another opening by the end of this year as the owners of online shop Cheap Tart Bakery launch their first brick-and-mortar storefront.
The yet-to-be-named pie and ice cream shop will open before the year is out at 1000 N. California Ave. and feature a vintage soda fountain and an array of pies and shakes, according to Dinah Grossman of Cheap Tart Bakery.
“In addition to the sweet and savory pies and tarts we've always offered at Cheap Tart, we'll be serving ice creams and sorbets from local producers, and handmade sodas and fountain drinks such as malts, shakes, phosphates, etc., with the help of a refurbished vintage soda fountain,” Grossman said.
Grossman, a Humboldt Park resident, will bring her 15 years of baking experience to the Humboldt Park intersection that’s been slated for at least three big openings and renovations in recent and coming months; two from restaurateur Brendan Sodikoff, including the newly renovated California Clipper, 1002 N. California Ave.; and another opening, The Haywood Tavern, 2759 W. Augusta Blvd., from the owners of High Dive and Rocking Horse.F
The pie shop will open in the former Peanut Gallery location, and with the closing of Knockbox Café across the street in September, residents can expect yet another announcement at the booming intersection.
“Humboldt Park is home. I can walk to the shop from my apartment. I love the neighborhood and the park itself," said Grossman, who opened Cheap Tart in 2010 and sold direct to customers via the Web and phone orders, including catering events, before moving to Humboldt Park. "The California Clipper has always been a special spot for me. Getting to be next-door neighbors just felt like fate.”
"I'd been looking for a home for this business concept for the last couple of years," she added. "I thought it might be a good fit, and it was.”
The new shop is part of a 15-year plan from developer Gino Battaglia to remake the intersection of California and Augusta into an economic and cultural hub for the rapidly changing neighborhood. Back in May, Battaglia said the addition of an ice cream parlor on the northwest corner of the intersection would complete his plan for all four corners by providing a place for neighbors to meet while complementing the existing local economy in Humboldt Park.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
