Located along busy South Oak Park Avenue, the space that once housed the Oak Park Food Mart is vacant. Owner Gus Boudros left abruptly in February 2012, leaving a glaring hole in the business landscape. Building owner Nick Boudros tells Patch the space is roughly 1,700 square feet and most of the market's interior remains in tact. That means the next owner could inherit a counter, walk-in cooler, shelving, and a back room office.  So what should be next? 

With a mysterious fire knocking out a three-storefront stretch along Lake Street and the recent shuttering of Chameleon Clothing on Oak Park Avenue, one of the area's showcase business intersections is depleted, at least temporarily. Earlier: Chameleon is Closing It's still very much a hub of activity. There are commuters coming and going to the nearby El stop, kids playing at Scoville Park, shoppers ducking in and out the independent stores, diners packing the restaurants — all of which means Chameleon's former space at 130 N. Oak Park Ave. is probably a hot property. What should replace it?

Don't cry for the demise of cake balls. Smile because they happened. The Bleeding Heart Bakery at 1010 North Blvd. officially closed last month, leaving a noticeable gap in the downtown Oak Park plaza where it resided. Earlier: Bleeding Heart Bakery to Close The Oak Park location had legions of local fans who've clamored to the bakery's specialties and punk rock ethos. When an employee was mugged at the store during a robbery in December 2011, hundreds of customers threw support and well wishes the store's way. But earlier this year, owners said the Oak Park location was losing customers to …

For this week's installment of Visions for Vacancies, we head to busy North Avenue, where the traffic is heavy and the parking is thin. And we turn our focus to Capri Italian Food at 7325 North Ave., home of frozen pastas, homemade red sauces, deli meats, sausages and all sorts of delicioso Italian imports. The mixed use building is 5,500 feet, records show, and it looks like the new tenant would get about half that space. The store moved one door west in the same building. So, what would you like to see there? Another ethnic food store? Office space? What does North Avenue need that it doesn…

Update: We've heard from realtor Tammy Spilis with Network Commerical Real Estate. She says: "We do actually have a lease on that space, as well the adjacent unit, it’s all from the same user. It’s a large user obviously." Until a deal is done, she said, "We’re not at liberty to divulge any information whatsoever." Original Story: This stretch of downtown Oak Park has seen a lot of activity lately. Recent arrivals include Delia's Kitchen, the Lake Street Kitchen + Bar, Potbelly, Crumbs Bake Shop and Cheryl's Cookies. Pretty soon, Falafill will open its doors at 1053 Lake St., right across the…

Traverse the parking lot at the River Forest Town Center at Harlem and Lake, and you're bound to notice the 25,000-some square feet of vast emptiness that once housed a Linens N Things. Owned by Mid-America Real Estate Corp., the town center, with its diverse roster of stores, is a key sales tax generator for the village of River Forest. Linens N Things announced it was closing the location July 2008. Since then, efforts to fill the space have faltered. About this time last year, village president John Rigas told Wednesday Journal Mid-America was close to securing tenants for the space, which…

Last week's installment of "Visions for Vacancies," which focused on the space that once housed Billy's Fruit Market, drew some impassioned responses on Patch and our Facebook Page. This week, we head just up the block to Madison Video, the video rental store at 500 Madison St. which shut its doors in December, the victim of changing business model that's taken customers out of brick-and-mortar stores and onto the Web. So what kind of business would fit there now? (Remember, there's all this talk of transforming Madison Street into a pedestrian friendly corridor.)

"Fully equipped grocery store...Just stock up and open!" reads a flyer taped to the windows of the building that used to house Billy's Fruit Market. The longtime grocery store, 400 Madison St., closed in fall 2011 after owner Peter Nikols fell on hard times, "squeezed out by competitors" according to Wednesday Journal.  Located at the northwest corner of Madison Street and Ridgeland Avenue, the single story building is 4,150 square feet. A quick peek inside reveals racks, registers and shelving — all apparently ready for the next tenant.  The going price? $695,000.