Chicago Market Co-op Gets Big $ Boost
$5 Million Grant From City Ends Fundraising Slog, Sets Stage for Buildout
Chicago Market Gets Closer to Home
The project to launch a Chicago Market grocery co-op in the city has been under way since 2013, but the buildout and opening of the store has been delayed multiple times because of fundraising challenges. So it’s hard to even imagine the exultation that took place among the project’s insiders when they learned that the city of Chicago will be providing them with a $5 million grant to bring the project to fruition.
With that huge funding leap, the Chicago Market team will immediately move forward on building out the store in the historic Gerber Building seen in the photo above. The location is right below the Chicago L’s Wilson Red Line station and is expected to provide a major financial boost to the surrounding Uptown neighborhood, which once reigned as the city’s center for entertainment and nightlife but has struggled financially over recent decades.
The store is presently expected to open in October 2023, though that date is not set in stone. And while all involved wish the Market had been able to open sooner, there is a certain serendipity: The Gerber Building will turn 100 years old next year.
Chicago Market currently has more than 2,200 owners, a title accorded to those who made a monetary investment in the project over nearly a decade. [I became an owner in 2013, early in my second career as a food writer and activist and not long after I wrote my first article on Chicago Market.] Owners are stakeholders who will have a voice in matters such as how the store is run, its product mix and more.
Local sourcing is at the center of Chicago Market’s philosophy, shared by many other co-ops in our region and beyond. I am excited about this and also about the Market site’s proximity to where we live about two miles south. I plan to shift a lot of my grocery store shopping to Chicago Market when it opens.
In the meantime, Chicago Market is showing its flag with the seasonal Uptown Farmers Market, held just outside the Gerber Building on Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The following is the press release from Chicago Market announcing the city grant.
CHICAGO MARKET TAKES A MAJOR STEP TOWARD IMPROVING ACCESS TO HEALTHY, LOCAL, SUSTAINABLE FOOD
City’s investment will make innovative grocery co-op a reality and help revitalize Uptown through job creation, community programming, and the preservation of the historic Gerber Building.
CHICAGO - Today, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that Chicago Market is among 79 organizations being moved forward for Community Development Grants totaling more than $49 million that will be funded from the Chicago Recovery Plan (CRP) and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) programs. With this support, Chicago Market, an innovative grocery co-op that plans to play an important role in the continued revitalization of Uptown, takes a major step closer to its planned opening in late 2023.
The investment from the City of Chicago adds to the investments already made by Chicago Market’s supporters and co-op Owners and clears the path for moving into the project’s final phase of development. This round of investment caps off a year of significant progress for the project which includes the hiring of Dan Arnett, a luminary from the food co-op space, to serve as the Market’s General Manager, closing on the 10-year lease of the Gerber Building from the Chicago Transit Authority, finalizing the preliminary store design, and beginning remediation of the property’s basement in anticipation of the final buildout.
“We have made significant progress in breathing life into Chicago Market on behalf of our more than 2,200 Owners who have already invested their time and money to see the Market open. This support from the City is a big step forward in our quest to open,” said Matthew Ruffi, President of Chicago Market’s Board of Directors. “We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the City for believing in our project and thank Alderman James Cappleman, Alderman Harry Osterman, Sarah Wilson and the Uptown Chamber of Commerce team, and the Chicago Transit Authority for their continued partnership and support. We look forward to continuing to work with the Chicago Development Commission, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, and the City Council as we work to open our doors to the Uptown community and beyond.”
Chicago Market will be an innovative grocery experience, built on the cooperative business model, that breaks down the traditional barriers that limit access to healthy, local foods and promotes the sustainability of the local foodshed and economy. The Co-op will offer over 9,000 square feet of locally sourced and sustainable foods; create more than 75 local jobs, and offer education and programs to the community that improves access to healthy food. The planned 2023 opening of the Market coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the Gerber Building which Chicago Market calls home.
“Chicago Market is one of many exciting things happening in Uptown,” said James Cappleman, Alderman for the 46th Ward which includes part of Uptown. “As one of the most diverse and vibrant wards in all of Chicago, I’m excited to see Chicago Market choose Uptown as its home. Chicago needs more businesses that reflect the diversity of our city and the values we have to create a welcoming and sustainable future for all. Chicago Market will do all of that and more.”
ABOUT CHICAGO MARKET
Chicago Market is a community-owned grocery co-op that exists to rebuild the connection between food producers and consumers. Powered by its members, who each own a stake in the store and are referred to as Owners, the co-op will feature local, sustainable foods from producers right here in the Midwest.
Chicago Market, which plans to open in late 2023, will be located in the historic Gerber Building, home of the former ‘L’ station at the corner of Wilson and Broadway in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
Learn more about Chicago Market at chicagomarket.coop.
And A Small Market Haul
I am, in fact, totally incapable of visiting a farmers market without buying more food. Here we have Rainier cherries and summer squash from Los Rodriguez Farm (Eau Claire, Michigan); eggplant from Andrew’s Heirlooms (northern Illinois); four-year-old cheddar from Stamper Cheese (Chicago); and a vegan, gluten-free chocolate cheesecake from Mindful Bakery (Chicago).
I don’t have too many dessert photos because I don’t have a major sweet tooth; most days I eat fruit for dessert. But Barb and I do maintain her family’s tradition of getting a treat after any medical appointment. I visited Uptown Farmers Market immediately after I got my second COVID vaccine booster shot, so when I saw the Mindful Bakery stand, it reminded me that I was owed. We had it for dessert tonight and trust that I made an excellent choice.
BTW, that shot filled out the last open slot on my CDC vaccine card. I think we should all get some kind of reward from the feds when that happens. It’s kind of like getting a report card with straight As, am I right?