South Loop Market: Hot Fun in the Wintertime
Chicago's new indoor market, and a co-op management job opportunity
South Looped In
The location of Chicago’s new South Loop Indoor Farmers Market is fortuitous. It is in the Roosevelt Collections, a street-level shopping center at 150 W. Roosevelt Rd. that also includes apartment residences. That helped the market draw a steady flow of customers who created a buzzy atmosphere on its opening day Saturday (January 6).
The stand in the above photo belonged to Bennett Farms, a veteran-owned producer of pasture-raised meats and eggs in Edwardsburg, Michigan.
Hebron Farms of Vandalia, Michigan is a fixture in the South Loop Farmers Markets during the outdoor season.
Zeitlin’s Delicatessen, which has built a following at selected farmers markets around Chicago, has excellent bagels, sourdough breads, cookies and other baked goods. But their bialys, a roll on which I grew up in New York but are darn hard to find these days, were worth the trip from Lakeview all by themselves.
Not sure what a bialy is? Here’s a helpful Local Food Forum article.
Daly’s Donuts is a Chicago startup that popped up at the end of The Lincoln Park Farmers Market outdoor season. Those tasty cinnamon sugar nuggets from the married couple of Conor Daly and Alejandra Pena are from a recipe that Alejandra spent years perfecting — and they are baked, not fried. Tasty and much lighter than your typical donut.
Along with the food vendors, South Loop Indoor Farmers Market has some interesting and fun side features. Above is a pop-up from the Fair Trade Museum, located uptown near Halsted and North. On Saturday there was also a pet photography studio pop-up and a kids’ corner designed to entertain tots.
The South Loop Indoor Farmers Market will be open every Saturday through March 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is located in the 150 West storefront on the east side of the circular Delano Court.
And my market haul? From left, eggs, pork shoulder and ground chicken (for chili) from Bennett Farms; skirt steak, carrots, sweet potatoes and white potatoes from Hebron Farms; bialys and bagels from Zeitlin’s; and donuts from Daly’s.
Wild Onion Co-op Seeks General Manager
Wild Onion Market is a co-operative grocery store that is under development in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. As their build-out and fundraising proceeds toward its opening (date TBD), the market is seeking to fill the key role of General Manager.
Below is part of the job description from Wild Onion Market, with a link to apply.
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The Wild Onion Market is a cooperative grocery store, located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL. We are very close to opening our doors, and to do so, we need to hire an experienced General Manager!
To apply - Please email hr@wildonionmarket.com your resume AND a cover letter. We are looking to hire as soon as possible, applications will be considered on a rolling basis.
Position Summary
The General Manager (GM) plays a pivotal role in leading our food cooperative to achieve the mission, vision, and Policy Governance as articulated by the Wild Onion Market Board of Directors and ownership. We aim to build a viable and vibrant full-service grocery store grounded in a co-operative commercial business model that is responsive to our surrounding community through collaboration, advocacy, and education. The position has a multifaceted suite of responsibilities, including: monitoring the financial health of the business and providing strategic direction in response to economic demands, creating and fostering an excellent team that cultivates good linkages with co-op ownership, shoppers, and vendors, and charting a successful business path forward with an entrepreneurial spirit. This is an onsite, store-based role with extensive public contact in a dynamic environment.
Role and Responsibilities
The person hired as the Wild Onion Market General Manager will be responsible for leading operations & management for our grassroots start-up in partnership with our governing Board, to open our first brick and mortar store and lead us into the future. We are looking for someone who wakes up every morning excited by the idea of helping build a viable market with Board, Owners, and shopper suggestions.
This person will:
Operationalize Wild Onion Market’s mission and values to provide an alternative and financially accessible cooperative grocery store in an economically, racially and ethnically diverse neighborhood of north Chicago for the purpose of supporting a healthy community.
Build an inclusive, cooperative spirit within the staff, Board, Owners, and shoppers with a sense of belonging that is welcoming to all, especially those who are often marginalized or underrepresented.
Create and monitor a produce assortment that prioritizes local, organic, and sustainably made products and produce, with an understanding of how to balance the product mix to maintain a profit.
Provide operational leadership including initial staffing, vendor selection, and development of environmentally conscious and socially progressive processes and policies.
Articulate short- and long-term goals for Wild Onion Market, monitor progress against goals, identify and execute needed improvements, and lead innovation and growth in collaboration with the Board.
Be responsible and accountable to the Wild Onion Market Board utilizing Policy Governance.
To inquire or apply (include your resume and cover letter), click the button below.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
We are way below normal on snowfall so far in Chicago, continuing a pattern from recent years. So when I spotted this pretty scene in Grant Park while waiting for a bus home from South Loop Indoor Farmers Market, I couldn’t resist snapping a pic. And no, I didn’t use a black and white filter… that’s just what it looked like in real life.
And here’s our bird's eye view of the light snow scene in Lakeview East.
Forecasters say there’s a big storm heading our way Monday night into Tuesday, but because the temperatures are mostly expected to be above freezing, they’re not sure how much snow (or rain) we’re going to get.