Chicago Retail for Lease - South Chicago
PRIME DRIVE-THRU OPPORTUNITY ON 79TH ST - A WELL-ESTABLISHED COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR
1914 W 79th Street, a freestanding 3,712 sqft former national quick-service restaurant on a 0.51-acre signalized corner site along Chicago's high-traffic 79th Street commercial spine.
Purpose-built in 2005 with a drive-thru pad and full operational infrastructure intact, the property delivers a true 2nd-generation opportunity for a national, regional or local QSR operator or a drive-thru-dependent retail or healthcare user.
The property is being offered for long-term lease on a triple-net (NNN) structure.
PROPERTY OVERVIEW
Address: 1914 W 79th Street, Chicago, IL 60620
Building Size: 3 ,712 SqFt Freestanding Buildlng
Land Area: 0.51 acres (22,216 SF)
Year Built: 2005
Configuration: Drive-thru lane with proper stacking, dedicated parking field, dual ingress and egress
Submarket: Auburn Gresham / Gresham, South Side Chicago
County: Cook
PINs: 20-30-429-042, 20-30-429-037, 20-30-429-036, 20-30-429-035
Status: Vacant; ready for immediate operator build-out or net-lease tenant repositioning
Lease Structure: Triple-Net (NNN); tenant responsible for taxes, insurance and maintenance
SECOND-GENERATION DRIVE-THRU INFRASTRUCTURE
The site offers a fully equipped, plug-and-play operational base. Existing infrastructure includes a commercial kitchen with 3 hoods complete with ansul fire suppression systems and black iron, 4 walk-in coolers and freezers, multiple grease traps, the original drive-thru lane with proper stacking depth and a complete parking field.
For drive-thru operators evaluating Chicago infill sites, this configuration eliminates an estimated $200,000 to $400,000 in tenant improvement costs typically required to construct a new drive-thru lane and equip a full QSR kitchen.
The result is a materially compressed lease-execution timeline and the ability to open faster than a ground-up alternative in the same trade area.
79TH STREET CORRIDOR POSITIONING
79th Street is a recognized commercial spine serving the broader Auburn Gresham, Gresham and Chatham trade areas, with consistent retail traffic patterns across the daytime and evening dayparts.
The subject property benefits from strong corridor visibility, signalized intersection access supporting clean ingress & egress and direct exposure to the surrounding co-tenancy and trade-area generators. Notable nearby retail includes the Auburn Gresham Healthy Hub, anchored by Bank of America and UI Health, which represents active institutional investment in the corridor.
A Dunkin' location operates at 207 W 79th Street, with a Burger King approximately 0.8 miles away and a Popeyes approximately 1.3 miles away. The corridor's established mix of national QSR, banking and healthcare retail confirms durable demand for drive-thru-dependent uses on this stretch of 79th Street.
CVS recently closed its large-format Auburn Gresham store and is actively redeploying small-format pharmacy locations across the South Side, reinforcing the relevance of the subject site to current national pharmacy site-selection programs.
HIGHEST AND BEST USE
The highest and best use of the property is continued drive-thru restaurant operation. Site geometry, lane configuration, parking complement and signage exposure on 79th St align directly with the site-selection criteria of national and regional QSR brands actively pursuing Chicago infill locations.
Alternative drive-thru-dependent uses supported by the existing configuration include dedicated coffee concepts, drive-thru pharmacy, drive-thru urgent care, dialysis and primary-care medical retail, drive-thru banking and convenience-store redevelopment. The drive-thru-configured building also supports the growing roster of fast-casual operators prioritizing off-premise and digital order channels.
LEASE STRUCTURE
The property is offered on a long-term NNN lease structure. Targeted lease term is 7 to 10 years for national and regional credit tenants, with renewal options available.
Negotiable subject to tenant credit, proposed use, and lease length.
For tour scheduling and due-diligence materials, contact the listing broker.
Listed by Ted Aretos & Brian O'Kelly at EatZ Real Estate Group, LLC
