Itasca to buy Kean's Bakery for $500,000

Itasca has agreed to purchase Kean's Bakery for $500,000, paving the way for possible redevelopment after the bakery's closure aimed at next year.

The village has reached an agreement to buy the building housing the bakery on 217 N. Walnut St.

The property was listed for sale in January and the village's purchase will be finalized by June 30, 2022. The bakery opened in 1983 and Mayor Jeff Pruyn said the owners are seeking to retire as soon as the building's purchase is finalized. Pruyn said Kean's is expected to remain open until next June. Kean's Bakery owners did not respond to requests for comment.

Daddy O's Diner also is in the building and plans to remain open after the sale, Pruyn said.

Pruyn said the building's location in the core of downtown made it a good purchase for the village. Although there are no plans for tearing down the building or replacing Kean's with another business, Pruyn said the purchase gives the village more control over redevelopment.

"A decision like this does not come easy, nor does it come quickly," Pruyn said in a statement. "Itasca is defined by institutions, from houses of worship to places of commerce; the fabric of our community has been created by the establishments that call Itasca home. Kean's Bakery is just one such company that has defined our downtown for years."

Downtown redevelopment has been a focus of Itasca for years. The village released its Downtown Itasca Strategic Plan in January, laying out plans to expand the area's potential for economic growth with the village's Metra station as a starting point.

It includes the Irving Park Road corridor west to I-290. The project area is loosely defined by Center Street to the north, Cherry Street to the east, Bloomingdale Road and Grove Street to the south, and I-290 to the west.

The village continues to find properties for its redevelopment plan, including the former Starbucks at 102 E. Irving Park Road that relocated to Wood Dale. Last year, the village board indicated that it would permit a new tenant to put a drive-through on village-owned land at the rear of the property.

* Trey Arline is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.