Leaky Keg Brewing is looking to officially relocate to Rolling Meadows, located at 3111 Meadow Dr.
Coaction Corp. has proposed purchasing the longtime closed Station 15 Fire Station from the city to transform it into a multi-use restaurant destination called The Firehall. The proposed development would include six booths leased to independent vendors and restaurants. In this proposed redevelopment, the first known tenant is local craft beer brewer Leaky Keg Brewing. Other tenants could include a Thai restaurant, a charcuterie booth, a cocktail bar, and a bakery/coffee shop, according to The Daily Herald.
The potential buyers submitted preliminary floor and site plans to city hall while unveiling the concept during a city council committee-of-the-whole meeting. The restaurants in these preliminary plans would rent booths that range from 100 to 500 square feet. Seating will be available throughout the hall, with umbrellas outside the three firehouse garage doors. The relocation of Leaky Keg would come in part with the proposed phase two of the project, along with the opening of a cocktail bar on the second floor owned and operated by Coaction called Hosed.
“We want to transform an old community center into a new community gathering place and center for people to come enjoy,” Samantha Doro, one of the principals behind the project, told The Daily Herald. “I think the idea of a fire hall is so exciting because when you have a diverse group of friends and a diverse group of people, it’s nice to know you can go somewhere where everybody has options, and everyone’s going to be able to get the type of food or drink that they’re excited about.”
The 5,400 square-foot building has been available for nearly two years now, after being decommissioned in December 2019. The Rolling Meadows Fire Station 15 was relocated to 3201 W. Algonquin Rd as part of a $5.8 million redevelopment. The building has stayed vacant ever since. Now, Coaction Corp. is hoping their proposal is enough for the city of Chicago to sell the building to them and bring a revival to the Leaky Keg Brewing. Following the initial proposal, council members, including Mayor Joe Gallo, generally supported the project.
“I think it’s a wonderful concept. I’m interested and excited about the opportunities,” Gallo told The Daily Herald. “Definitely would like to see the conversations move forward a little bit more meticulously in the details.”
