‘Full circle moment’: Husband and wife set to launch transformation of shuttered Rolling Meadows firehouse

While enjoying the sweet treats of Comet Frozen Custard on Kirchoff Road in Rolling Meadows, Michael and Emily Schumann have spent recent summers pondering the possibilities for the empty brick building next door.

That’s where an old two-story, 10,800-square-foot firehouse has remained quiet since it closed in 2019 and firefighters moved to new fire stations.

Starting this fall, the Schumanns will launch a $1.8 million transformation of what was the original 1958 downtown Rolling Meadows Fire Station 15 into their concept for a coffee house, bakery and communal event space.

They’re calling it Abide Coffee + Bakery, envisioned as a place for families, couples, singles and work-from-home types to meet and gather.

“We were always looking at that building right next door and saying, ‘Man, I wonder could that be a good place for us to do Abide,'” Michael Schumann said. “Because we’ve had the business plan and the ideas and the design for what Abide would be for many years. … It’s just a sweet full circle moment.”

The Schumanns have taken a circuitous route to what would be their first eatery. Michael is a mental health counselor who runs a side photography business shooting food and drink. He spent time at Darden Restaurants and doing customer service trainings for tech giant Apple. Emily is a registered dietitian.

“Everyone always asks, ‘Your wife is a dietitian, are you going to have sweet things?’” he said. “We’re having sweets.”

“We’ve never owned a coffee shop before,” he added, “but there’s been a lot of crossover from our previous careers and experiences that we’re really excited to apply in this specific environment.”

The couple’s Abide Group LLC last week submitted building permit documents containing their renovation plans that are now under review at city hall. Once they get a permit, they anticipate the adaptive reuse project at 3111-3113 Meadow Drive will take about six months.

After they had the winning development proposal for the city-owned property, the husband-and-wife business owners inked a redevelopment agreement with the city last December that will transfer the building over to them for $250,000 when construction is about to begin.

Phase one is repurposing the first floor: The coffee bar will be in the center bay where fire trucks used to pull in and out of; seating areas are planned in the bays to the north and south. A commercial kitchen and bakery will be built out in the back of the house. There’s also a conference room that will be available to rent.

An outdoor patio is envisioned south of the building, and a smaller patio will be in front.

A future second phase of development calls for build-to-suit office space on the second floor for business users, and creative flexible space for artists or those who want to host a special event.

The Schumanns’ design-build contractor has been doing preconstruction work for the past five months to try to mitigate any surprises in the 68-year-old building.

“We’re trying to truly reuse it and not just completely revamp it,” Michael Schumann said. “We’re not knocking down a ton of walls or making huge structural changes to the building. We want to respect it for what it is, and honestly in a really cool way it takes on this new environment of a coffee house so well.”

Opening date is targeted for spring or early summer 2027.