I’m moving abroad in a couple of months and will need to find a home for the ~25 cases of cellerable wine currently in my house. I’m looking for storage in the Chicago area since that’s where most of my friends and family are, and the city I visit most often when I’m back in the US (and the storage options in New Orleans are limited and expensive…). I’ve never used offsite storage previously, so only know what I’ve been able to glean from this forum and the web.
I used the search function to look for options in the Chicago area, and didn’t come up with much more than I already knew - Domaine, Kent, Chicago Wine Storage, and “The Lockup” (the place that had asbestos issues (since resolved) last year). My needs are relatively limited; I will only rarely be pulling bottles in the 3-5 years I’m abroad. Probably the biggest need is the ability to receive new wine shipments.
Are there any other storage companies out there you’d recommend? Any additional commentary (good or otherwise) you’d add about the ones mentioned above?
There are several good options with a range of service levels and associated price. I use the East Bank Storage location at 730 W. Lake. It was easily the lowest cost option: if you use the space efficiently it is around $1/bottle per year (or less if you use it REALLY efficiently!). They will put shipments in general storage unless you pay a bit extra per year to have them put in your locker and get after hours access.
The manager Linda is awesome, as are the other employees. I highly recommend—unless of course you are looking for a more full service offering.
You may also want to check with Canal Street (Devon Self Storage) for cheap, bulk storage. Hard to believe that East Bank is cheaper given its location, but I’ve never priced it our. No bells, no whistles, but I’ve kept some of my wine there for years.
I store my wine at East Bank Wine Storage at Lake/Halsted. It’s fine for what I need, but they are a bit tight on space there. I need to call over there about another matter, but if you like, I can inquire about availability. Generally speaking, good enough facilities and fair pricing. I like the location too.
They are supposed to open up a new location a bit further west, but I believe the ETA is summer.
Another vote for East Bank, There lockers are not all equal in size for stated capacity and be careful of any locker against an outside wall, i had a bunch of cardboard destroyed that way