Uptown & Andersonville: Close but Not the Same
Two nearby markets on Wednesday afternoon with different profiles
One’s a Walk on the Sunnyside, the Other’s an Urban Fair
Earlier this season, Local Food Forum wrote about the striking differences between two simultaneous Saturday markets located close to each other in Lincoln Park. At the east end is the flagship location of bustling Green City Market, Chicago’s premier destination farmers market. A few blocks west, The Lincoln Park Farmers Market has a more neighborhood feel, less crowded and more laid-back.
I found another example of this late Wednesday afternoon when I visited Chicago’s Uptown Farmers Market, then grabbed a Clark St. bus to travel the two miles to the Andersonville Farmers Market.
The Uptown market, open 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, is a project of Chicago Market, a developing food co-op that will be located in the historic Gerber Building at Wilson and Broadway, adjacent to the Wilson Red Line L stop. The Uptown Market was launched in 2021 and spent its first two years in the Gerber Building parking lot.
With long-awaited construction of the co-op getting under way for a targeted spring 2024 opening, the market was relocated not far away this year to Sunnyside Mall, a four-block pedestrian mall on Sunnyside St. between Magnolia and Beacon in the Sheridan Park community.
Uptown Farmers Market 2.0, located in a pleasant residential neighborhood, is so much more amenable than the shadowed former location under the L tracks. As you walk down Sunnyside from Clark St. on the west, the street becomes permanently blocked off at Beacon, with lovely lilac bushes (seen in the photo at top) marking the start of the mall. Rather than a streetscape of the huge metal pillars supporting the elevated train track, there is a canopy of trees with other plantings.
Andersonville Farmers Market, on the other hand, has much more of an urban street fair vibe. Open from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, it is in the midst of the busy Clark St. commercial strip, on a short stretch of Catalpa St., between a Jewel store’s parking lot and a Walgreens, that is closed off for the weekly market.
This pop-up plaza has roughly two dozen vendors with tents closely spaced on either side of the street. The market was well-attended even though the produce stands are still in early-season stage with only a handful of seasonal crops for sale.
My Wednesday market haul included from left: poppy-seed bagels and a rich chocolate cookie from R&A Sourdough (Chicago) and four-year-old cheddar and mild swiss from Stamper Cheese (Chicago), purchased at the Uptown Farmers Market; and potatoes from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); lettuce mix and baby kale from The Talking Farm (Skokie, Illnois) and cherry scones from Letizia’s Natural Bakery (Chicago), from the Andersonville market.
So if you prefer an urban street scene — and the option of segueing to dine or drink at one of the many local establishments — then Andersonville may be your preference for a Wednesday end of workday sojourn. If you want a more laid-back and personable experience in a lovely neighborhood setting, then head to Uptown Farmers Market.
Or spend a couple of hours and do both!
Interesting! I’d love to try Uptown Market. Haven’t been. Thanks for the info Bob.