What once was a Texaco, a White Hen Pantry and most recently a 7-Eleven, is a new space for music in the North Lakeview neighborhood.
"I think about that a lot. I think gosh, if I could see young Seth buying a Sun Times in the 7-Eleven and say, you're going to lease this space one day and put a music space inside, he would've been blown away," laughed Seth Boustead, Executive Director, Founder, Access Contemporary Music.
The space at 4116 N. Clark has been vacant for ten years. Boustead said when he saw that the building was for rent in 2023, his vision became clearer.
"I peeked into the windows and got a sense of the size of it and thought it was perfect for chamber music and the location can't be beat. The process was long but we got the grant from the city and the alderperson and the go ahead from the landlord and we went from there."
The new space seats 60 people, features 4 teaching rooms, a bar and a grand piano as its centerpiece.
"It will be great for acoustic music, Cabaret, Jazz, for classical, for contemporary classical. We'll do some workshopping for composers, we're going to have a film series here. We're going to teach in here. We already have 15 students and we haven't even officially opened yet. We just want to offer a thriving hub of music for the community." said Boustead.
Access Contemporary Music is a non profit that's been around for 20 years. It produces music festivals, digital music and concerts but this is their first brick and mortor space. Boustead says nothing good comes from vacant buildings so it's a concept he loves.
"I've always been fascinated with architecture and especially empty spaces and what should be done with them. They become condos or they become breweries but there are only so many condos and breweries that we need, ya know. At some point, what else can they become? So this is a new model." he smiled.
The CheckOut takes its name from the building's history as a 7-Eleven store and will feature 7-Eleven-themed touches such as adult slushies and lottery tickets.
"We're doing a lot of sly things to nod that it was once a 7-11. We have a lot of ideas to make it fun for people." he said. "The idea is we can put classical music in a non traditional venue, while still paying attention to the acoustics, still paying attention to make the music sound great but strip away some of the things that keep people away, like where they may be afraid of going, where the ticket prices are too high but this is going to be an accessible venue embedded in a community performing high end chamber music."
The CheckOut’s Grand Opening Festival will run September 13-28 with a dozen concerts featuring top-tier local performers and composers. All tickets are under $25 and available now at thecheckout.org
Access Contemporary Music (ACM) is a Chicago non-profit that champions contemporary classical music.