Owner Jose Barajas said his business has survived the recession because he knows what he has to do to be successful.

“If you have a good product at a good price, people are going to buy it,” said Barajas.

El Solazo, located at 5600 S. Pulaski Road, is a small, authentic restaurant with all the trappings of Mexico: A portrait of the Virgin Mary graces one wall and a sculpture of the Aztec calendar greets visitors as they walk in. Serving everything from tacos to Mexican seafood, prices range from $1.59 to $19 per dish.

Barajas, 29, said he already had the experience and knowledge of Mexican food when he opened his restaurant. He began working in the food industry at the age of 17. He comes from a family that owns a chain of successful Mexican restaurants; one of the restaurants is owned by his mother. He said his family members weren’t upset about his idea of launching a new restaurant on his own in 2007, but they didn’t expect him to have a booming business.

“I didn’t even think I was going to do as well. I just wanted to pay my bills,” Barajas said.

His mother supports him and helps out with his business. He said he is grateful for the experience he gained in his family business, and it was a “stepping stone” for him.

Barajas said he doesn’t know the formula behind his success, but he is sure of what he believes in and what he set out to do.

“The specialty here, I believe, is the fact that whatever we do, we do it fresh and people seem to like what we do,” he said.

Everything in the restaurant is homemade. Barajas has compiled recipes that date back to 1995. He said he is in his restaurant every day and often gets in the kitchen to cook.

“There is not a can of salsa, there is not a can of beans, there is not a can of anything in the back. Everything we do here is from scratch,” Barajas said.

Patrons described the food as authentic, fresh and well prepared.

Erica, 31, who declined to give her last name, said she came across El Solazo as she was driving and decided to stop and try the food. She said the food she finds at El Solazo is the closest she’s found to her grandmother’s style of cooking.

Other patrons offered similar praise.

“I’m very picky about my Mexican food, and this is the closest to authentic Mexican food,” said Maria Juarez.

Juarez, 37, works and lives in the area. She said her favorite plate is chilaquiles verde (tortillas with green hot sauce). The plate is served with rice, beans and a choice of eggs for $5.49 and steak for $6.99.

Other patrons said they like the prices.

“Food here is not greasy compared to other Mexican restaurants on Pulaski, and the prices are very reasonable within my budget,” said Jose Da La Torre.

Jackie Padilla, 20, started working for Barajas one month after he opened his restaurant. She said she sees returning customers all the time.

“They like the food a lot and the service. They say we treat them like friends and not customers,” said Padilla.

Half of the top 10 states with the greatest number of farmers markets are in the Great Lakes region, according to the 2010 USDA National Farmers Market Directory.

The directory released last month shows 6,132 farmers markets across the country. Many of the highest totals belong to Great Lake states.

Illinois has the most markets in the region with 286. It ranks third nationally behind only New York and California. It is followed by Michigan which ranks fourth nationally with 271 markets, Ohio which ranks seventh with 213, Wisconsin at eighth  with 204 and Pennsylvania ninth with 203.

Continue reading this report here.

The customers are greeted with a smile and pleasant “How are you?” from Anne. After a few minutes of decision making, one customer asks for a single chocolate glazed. She asks Anne to heat it in the microwave.

“I bet they’ll be just heaven-heated,” the customer said. Anne says she’s not supposed to, but the customer pleads — “Just 10 seconds.” Anne looks at the customer, exhales a breath and gives in. The customer pays 98 cents and walks out with a smile.

“To produce a good quality, fresh doughnut, cut by hand is something really hard to find,” said Darryl Townson, owner and operator of Dat Donuts.

Dat Donuts, 8251 S. Cottage Grove Ave., has been open in the Chatham neighborhood for 16 years. Success led Townson to open a second location, 1979 W. 111th St., in the Beverly neighborhood eight months ago.

Independent doughnut shops used to fill the Chicagoland area, but competing against national behemoth Dunkin Donuts was a futile fight for many. Dunkin Donuts has held a competitive advantage, between automated equipment and purchasing power over goods. However, they cannot compete against the freshness and local touch independent doughnut shops offer.

The big retailers thrive because their efficiency of scale allows them to set prices at the absolute lowest because profits are spread over numerous outlets, said Heidi Hedeker, member of the Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association.

“An independent business person isn’t able to make money on that margin, so they’re forced to go out of business,” Hedeker said.

Dunkin Donuts are individually owned by franchisees and do not discuss details of sales and operating costs, said Carrie Reckert, spokesperson for Dunkin Donuts.

“Our strength is the value we offer,” Reckert said in an email. “Research says that our consumers consider Dunkin Donuts to be a very good value and of course that is critical in this economy.”

The intense work needed to operate these independent businesses is another contributing factor to their dwindling existence.

“It’s an 18-20 hour day job,” Townson said.  “With a small business like this, you have to be hands-on with everything.”

Ron Pavelka has operated Bridgeport Bakery, 2907 S. Archer Ave., for 35 years. He has two bakers who start at 10:30 p.m.; he shows up at midnight to assist. Another employee starts at 3 a.m. to wrap wholesale product, a driver shows up at 4:30 a.m. and the storefront clerk starts at 6.

“It gets a little complicated, but that’s the way I like it,” Pavelka said.

Bridgeport Bakery sells a wide variety of cake and yeast doughnuts, coffee and wedding cakes and fresh-baked bread. It sells a portion of products at wholesale to grocery stores.

“When the front’s slow we sell out the back to keep us busy,” Pavelka said.

A key ingredient for successful doughnut shops is to offer other products or services. Peak doughnut season is between September and April, Townson said, because the hot weather makes heavy doughy food undesirable in conjunction. Also, he said, people in the summer tend to watch their weight.

Dat Donuts has an ice cream parlor to cool the summertime appetite and offers breakfast sandwiches to meet morning traffic demand.

The personal customer interaction and the relationship established with the community is another ingredient for successful small businesses.

“It’s a more human landscape than these other places,” said Hedeker. “There’s a protocol for handling every transaction.”

When Sawyer Lahr was living in the Bridgeport neighborhood, he would stop in the bakery each morning on his way to work, always greeted with familiar smiles and small talk. Sometimes if he didn’t have exact change for a pastry, the cashier covered him.

“I was taken by their simplicity,” Lahr said. “It’s always fresh, they bake it everyday.”

“People demand a fresh product and when they can see you making it out here in front of them producing it, that’s how you satisfy your customers,” Townson said.

The Cornucopia Institute, a not-for-profit, progressive farm policy research group based in Wisconsin, has been acting as a consumer watchdog and monitoring how organic laws are enforced. This includes tracking how large food corporations follow or try to skirt organic food regulations.

If you take time to buy your food carefully with quality, safety, and the environment in mind, then you care whether soybeans are grown by American organic farmers, if the company supports organic agriculture by sourcing only organic soybeans, and whether they use loopholes in the organic standards to source cheaper, non-organic ingredients. Check the site for a description of why the survey focused on the questions it did. It also talks about why soybeans from China are a problem.

Worst of all, the report states that many “natural” soy food products use a chemical called hexane in processing. According to the report, “Hexane is strictly prohibited in organic food processing, but is used to make ‘natural’ soy foods and even some that are ‘made with organic ingredients,’ such as Clif Bars. Hexane is a neurotoxic petrochemical solvent that is listed as a hazardous air pollutant with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”

Use the scorecard to shop better for yourself and your family. It’s one thing to just go to the store and buy based on low price. Once you’ve decided your health matters and you begin to read labels and adopt healthy eating patterns, it hurts to believe you bought an organic, ethically grown and produced food just to learn it was all marketing hype.

The issues are complex, but the scorecard is clear and the ratings are explained in detail. Read the study as carefully as you do labels and decide for yourself which soy products are up to your standards.

State Rep. Deb Mell (D-Chicago) introduced a bill last month that would force chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Potbelly to disclose on their menu boards the number of calories contained in each meal.

“I found my idea from last summer when I took a short trip to New York City. I saw that restaurants have to disclose information,” said Mell.

Mell, a first-term lawmaker and daughter of longtime Chicago Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), said she found the information useful because she was counting calories using an application on her iPhone.

“I am amazed how [many restaurants in Illinois] we have, and we don’t know what the ingredients are [in each entree]. Sure, there are nutritional fact sheets, but nobody will pay attention when ordering,” she said.

Mell said the new measure would not cost a lot of money because chains already calculate the calories, and they would only have to pay for reprinting the menus.

Jeff Cronin, communications director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a national advocacy group for healthier eating, applauded the new bill.

“Labeling on menu boards really helps to control consumers’ weight and health,” Cronin said.

Cronin said his group has been working with New York City officials since that city’s legislation was enforced in 2008. Since that time, there has been a big impact on public perceptions.

According to an online survey reported by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, after consumers learned the calorie count of menu items, 71 percent of the people said they wanted to order lower-calorie options. Also, 51 percent said they would no longer order certain items.

The survey was conducted in early 2009, nearly a year after the law had taken effect, among 755 consumers who live in the five New York City boroughs.

“A new law could be a powerful tool to provide information, but we don’t know if consumers would change their habits,” said Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Blatner said focusing on fast-food restaurants is a good start because two out of every three people in the county are overweight and fast-food restaurants offer food that is high in calories.

Some would like to extend the idea of posting calories counts to more restaurants.

Denise Wilson, a communications officer for Burger King, said the fast-food chain is fully compliant with current local regulations to post calories on restaurant menu boards.

However, Wilson said the company supports the Labeling Education and Nutrition Act (LEAN Act) introduced last year in the U.S. Congress because it would create a standard for the industry in all 50 states.

Besides Illinois, a dozen other states have introduced labeling laws, but only four have signed them into law. California will be the first one to enforce its law in January 2011. Maine, New Jersey and Oregon will follow suit a short time later.

“Currently, there is a growing patchwork of inconsistent state and local laws governing menu labeling. We will roll out consistent nutritional in-restaurant menu labeling once a federal standard is enacted,” said Wilson.

The National Restaurant Association also said the industry needs a national approach.

“Unfortunately, the current legislation is not the right approach for consumers to get the right information,” said spokeswoman Sue Hensley.

She said the association wants to develop a label that could be similar to the nutrition facts that can be found on food packages.

Babette Novak and Dirk Matthews, who created the Portage Park Farmers Market along with the Portage Park Neighborhood Association, say having farmers markets in all types of weather and in different seasons brings money into the economy and gets people involved.

“[It’s important to be involved in the neighborhood] because we are residents and homeowners and we want to help whatever way we can,” Novak said. “When we first moved here we thought the area needs a farmers market.”

The work Novak and Matthews do is put on display the last Saturday of each month — this month, on Feb. 27 — when they welcome vendors and residents to the market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This market is unlike the summer market; it’s a rare occasion that only a handful of Chicago’s residents get to enjoy because not every neighborhood has the funds or the power to have a winter market. But with the help of Friends of Portage Park, a neighborhood association, Novak and Matthews were able to start Portage Park’s first farmers market, which stretches the whole length of Portage Park on Irving Park Road.

The market, which began in October 2008 in conjunction with the annual Pumpkin Festival, differs from most others because it primarily features organic meats, poultry, eggs, cheeses, baked goods and more.

“We have a couple of produce vendors, but they’re greenhouse produce,” Novak said.

Taking care of the community isn’t always easy. Gerard Staniszewski, president of the Portage Park Neighborhood Association and supporter of the Portage Market, has to meet with local business owners and public officials to make sure the neighborhood is being taken care of. “It’s our job to take care of the community and care what happens in it,” said Staniszewski.

Even Staniszewski was surprised with how well the winter market was received.

“The numbers of attendees is good. Not as good as the summer, but you would expect that. And more vendors are taking part,” Staniszewski said. “I think it is great, it gets people out of the house.”

One of the greenhouse produce vendors, Tiny Greens, said winter markets aren’t typical, but they are glad to have people buying their products year-round.

“Most often the produce that I have found comes from cold storage. There are a few that have hot houses or raise produce ‘aquaponically’…We definitely have a niche market,” said Paula Jeremias of Tiny Greens.

“We wanted to start [a farmers market] as soon as we found out that there wasn’t one because we thought it would be great for the community,” Novak said. “When we started going to neighborhood meetings, we found out other people wanted one also.”

The winter market is welcomed by the residents in Portage Park because it gives them an alternative to standard grocery stores.

“We don’t have to buy the regular food from Jewel,” said Lizzy Nowak, a resident for over 18 years. “I like to have the organic meats and the fresh vegetables. It just feels right.”

Joyce Brown is no stranger to people in need. As the project coordinator for the Englewood Food Network, she’s been organizing food pantries and serving up meals to hungry clients for a long time.

But during the past year, she’s seen a pronounced difference in the people who patronize the pantry run by Beautiful Zion Church, 1406 W. 64^th St., where she volunteers at one of 32 food pantries in the Englewood network.

“There has always been seniors coming to get food,” Brown said. “But now there are more seniors and more families – especially single mothers with children. Everybody is in need.”

In this economy when people run out of food stamps, they’re turning to the food pantries to help them with meals, said Doris Jones, NCP director for Teamwork Englewood, which assists 15 food pantries through its partnership with the Englewood Food Network.

“We’re helping with the food needs and want to make sure people have a variety of produce and money to keep going,” she said.

Clients of the network food pantries receive a bag of groceries containing canned goods, cereal, bread, meat and – if available – fresh produce. The bags contain enough food for a family of four for two to three days. But the network is spending more to stock the pantries because of increased demand.

Teamwork Englewood and New Faith Baptist Church in south suburban Matteson are helping support the food pantries. Last year, New Faith Baptist donated $12,000 for the purchase of food for Englewood residents. And 40 trained volunteers from the Matteson church are on hand to help with cooking and bookkeeping, and to provide workshops to the food pantries.

Another goal of the Teamwork Englewood/New Faith Baptist Church partnership, said Jones, is working with the NCP Health, Food & Fitness Task Force to make sure a variety of healthy produce is available. Fresh produce trucks go to the food pantries on different days and times.

Teamwork Englewood also arranged for the pantries to purchase fresh produce and other goods from the Englewood Farmers’ Market during the season.

This task force is part of Teamwork Englewood’s Quality-of-Life plan to promote healthy lifestyles that include physical fitness, good nutrition and better use of health care resources.

Englewood, said Jones, is a food desert, noting that the only national grocery chains in the neighborhood are one Food 4 Less, at 72^nd Street and Ashland Avenue; and two Aldi’s, at 63^rd and Halsted streets and at 79^th Street and Ashland Avenue.

Because of the lack of nutritious food in the black community, Jones said, many residents are plagued with obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

“Food is an issue,” she said. “We look at having well-balanced and nutritious meals. Adults need to know how to prepare soul food in a healthy way. Once you get a community eating healthy and exercising, the residents start to participate in other civic activities.”

Healthy Cooking

Offering healthier food choices to the Englewood community is the key to bringing the neighborhood the best quality of life it can have, Jones said. A healthy cooking class at Beautiful Zion Church, started by volunteers from the New Faith Baptist Church in July, is providing another means of providing healthier food choices and education.

Chef consultant Kocoa Scott-Winbush, taught the classes this past summer to food pantry volunteers and neighborhood residents. In the classes, Scott-Winbush emphasized incorporating fresh vegetables into meals.

Sandra Wilcoxon remembers the first time the New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church food pantry, a network member, distributed fresh blueberries. “People refused to take the blueberries,” said Wilcoxon, a volunteer at the church’s food pantry, at 1859 W. Marquette Road. “They didn’t want to waste them. They didn’t know what to do with them.”

But through the healthy cooking classes, pantry volunteers came up with a solution the next time blueberries were available – blueberry pancakes. They were a huge hit.

The cooking classes have helped open up clients to food they would not ordinarily purchase, Wilcoxon said, adding that now, when clients line up for assistance, they often share recipes for items in the food bags.

The classes, added Brown, the food network coordinator, help participants “see there are other things to do with that same food. It gives them creative ideas to eat healthy.”

Linda Saunders, a Teamwork Englewood volunteer, has received assistance from a network food pantry and attended the cooking classes. She enjoyed the classes and the way Scott-Winbush expanded her palate.

“This class helped me with various ways to prepare food with healthy benefits,” she said. “They have turned out wonderful.”

Saunders, for example, had never prepared eggplant. But her 13-year-old son was so taken with a recipe that she learned in class that he later attended a cooking class with her.

“You learn not only the methods about how to prepare a dish, but also get cultural information and experience as well,” she said.

Dennis Ware, president and executive director of the Englewood Food Network, said that people in the Englewood community are among the poorest of the poor. They sometimes have to choose whether to spend their money on medication, housing or food.

“The Englewood Food Network strives to make sure they don’t have to make those choices,” Ware said.

Chicago Public Radio’s City Room reports on the increased demand at Cook County food pantries.

Located on the city’s West Side, Austin’s population is nearing 130,000, and as the population rises in what community activists call Chicago’s “forgotten child,” so do the number of fast food restaurants in a neighborhood that already lacks grocery stores and healthy sit-down options.

Elce Redmond, assistant director of the South Austin Coalition, said business owners, specifically fast food restaurant owners, decided Austin wasn’t a community that wanted or would support anything but fast food.

“For some reason, people have this idea that Austin can only sustain fast food restaurants,” he said. “I mean, no matter where you are in Austin, all you see are fast food joints. In this community, all we have are horrible fast food restaurants with their greasy, fried and deeper fried foods.”

Redmond estimates that there are well over 100 fast food restaurants in Austin and less than five family dining options.

Lavern Herron, co-owner of Caramel Café, a sandwich shop that opened at 5941 W. Madison St. just over a year ago, said Austin can sustain restaurants with healthy options and hers is one of them.

“We don’t offer the standard deep fried everything and fries,” she said. “Instead, we offer healthy options like soup and salad and sandwiches. We offer a sit-down restaurant in a warm, clean environment, and that’s something the community really needs more of.”

Woodrow Taylor, a 35-year resident of Austin, said the number of fast food restaurants has grown every year and the number of grocery stores has decreased.

“One of the biggest problems in Austin is we have no grocery stores and that is the main reason for all the fast food restaurants,” he said. “The owners of the fast food restaurants have taken advantage of the fact that it is easier for people to walk over and grab a burger and fries than it is to travel and try to find a grocery store.”

It’s not just Austin, as journalist Eric Schlosser points out in his 2001 best-seller, “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.” He wrote that every city across the United States is being taken over by fast food chains.

“A generation ago, three-quarters of the money used to buy food in the U.S. was spent to prepare meals at home,” Schlosser said in his book. “Today, about half of that same money is spent in restaurants – mainly fast food restaurants. In 1968, McDonald’s had 1,000 restaurants – today it has about 30,000, and 2,000 new ones are opening each year. The number of fast food restaurants that are taking over cities everywhere is alarming.”

Camille Lilly, president of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said Austin has more than 900 businesses, but it’s been difficult to bring in family-style dining and chain restaurants like Applebee’s and TGIF.

“It is difficult to change the culture of a community,” she said. “Austin is landlocked, so it is difficult to build in Austin. That, coupled with the idea or stereotype that family dining options won’t succeed in Austin, are the biggest problems.”

One family-style option, open since 1997, MacArthur’s, located at 5412 W. Madison St., has done very well with the concept of homestyle cooking and a sit-down, family environment.

“This is a family-style restaurant that has reasonable prices and offers the food that people in the community want,” MacArthur’s Manager Sharon McKennie said. “Austin has a lot of fast food restaurants, and we offer the alternative. We offer good, everyday, full-course meals at a reasonable price.”

Malcolm Crawford, president of the Austin African American Business Networking Association, said there is a strong need for healthy options in the community, but with all the other problems, it is difficult to force the issue.

“There has been some discussion about focusing on bringing in more family restaurants,” he said. “But let’s face it, there are so many other serious issues in Austin that I don’t really think people see the lack of sit-down restaurants, and the overabundance of fast food restaurants, as a pressing issue.”

[email protected]

Uncommon Ground’s eatery at 1401 W. Devon is the first restaurant in the country to have a certified organic rooftop farm.

Helen Cameron, owner of Uncommon Ground, said the Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA) officially certified the farm in October 2008.

“Everything is done organically. All the imports are organic, and we are very dedicated to that process because I do not want to consume any herbicides, pesticides… anything I bring into the restaurant that is really not right,” said Cameron, as she ordered a cup of squash soup.

Cameron said the goal at the restaurant is to serve food “when it is at its peak, fresh and when it hasn’t been transported 2,000 miles.”

Cameron said she also wants to offer great hospitality, warmth, good food, good drinks, music and art.

“It all started 19 years ago at Clark and Grace in a tiny little 800-square-foot spot with me and my husband Michael,” said Cameron.

Cameron said she has always appreciated good food and that’s what pushed her into becoming a chef. For 15 years, she worked in the kitchen and helped to grow Uncommon Ground at Clark and Grace.

When the Camerons decided to open a second restaurant, they wanted to be able to own the building.

“When we found this place, it could not have been more ideal for what we were hoping to do here. It actually added so [many] more possibilities because we had this parking lot, and then we realized we had the roof,” said Cameron. “It was pretty much the idea of a farm right from the beginning.” The option of people dining on the roof was never seriously considered, she said, as the focus all along was “to really produce food.”

Cameron said she and her husband are using the rooftop farm as a testing ground to figure out the best way to produce food on a rooftop.

“We designed it, got help from the organic gardener, and had to have a structural engineer. It took some major doing to get it set up because there is a lot of weight up there, and it is very important to make sure that your structure can handle that type of weight,” Cameron said as she dipped the bread into her soup.

She explained that she fortified all the building’s bearing walls with big cement footers and exchanged the wood bearing beams with steel I-beams.

“Our entire farm is floating above the roof, and it is supported by steel,” said Cameron.

The deck is 2,500 square feet.

“The growing space is just under 700 square feet, which comes to about .015 acres,” said Cameron.

Cameron said the farm is trying to use heirloom varieties of vegetables, because it is important to preserve bio-diversity.

“I fully expect things to be an experiment for at least five years before we can settle in and really develop a farming pattern that works for us,” said Cameron.

Natalie Pfister has been the farm director at Uncommon Ground since September 2008.

“We grow lots of veggies and herbs. Mostly tomatoes, a lot of heirloom varieties, including Zapotec Pleated, Japanese Black Trifle and Prize of the Trails,” said Pfister.

The farm also grows cucumbers, squash, eggplant, lettuces, onions, garlic, corn, beans, peas, radishes, carrots, beets, basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, oregano, lemon balm and a lot of edible flowers.

“Our menu changes every week, either a day or night menu. The changes that we make reflect the season and what is available to us as locally as we can get it. So, basically we gear the menu toward what is available nearby,” said Cameron.

Customer Gannon Reedy, a junior at Columbia College Chicago, has nothing but good things to say about Uncommon Ground.

“I have been there three or four times, and the few things that I have had there were pretty killer,” said Reedy. “It’s quite expensive, but definitely worth the extra bucks. You get what you pay for.”

“The good food element, and buying food that has been raised sustainably or organically, is really important to me as a chef because the flavor is better, and the nutrition is better,” said Cameron, as she smiled at a mother and her young son who were seated by the fireplace.

“I think that when you are born, you are a natural gardener. We designed the farm thinking a lot of kids would be up there. It is very user friendly space, so it’s accessible to kids and also very easy for us to move around in there and work in there as well,” said Cameron.

According to its website, Uncommon Ground teaches urban agriculture classes to nearby Waldorf School’s third graders. In addition, the business has a weekly farmers market, hosts green room sessions and once a month holds an eco-mixer hosted by local green organizations to develop opportunities for networking and growing a sustainable community.

“Helen and Mike started to do green room sessions to bring community members together with local organizations,” said Pfister.

Last year Uncommon Ground began to use themes during the green room sessions, including alternative transportation, urban agriculture, kids green and gardening, and sponsored events by community partners,” said Pfister. The sessions are offered every second Thursday of the month.

“The market is a real big community connector,” said Cameron.

Brittany Eisner has been the manager of Uncommon Ground for six months.

“We have a lot going on here. We are more than just food. We try to get the community involved, especially in the neighborhood,” said Eisner.

Cameron is working for her certification from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA).

Kate McGovern of the Green Restaurant Association, based in Boston, said that the association prides itself on having the world’s largest database of green solutions for the restaurant industry.

“We have a point system that we work with. All of our standards are online, so it is very transparent, and that way when the restaurants come on board they know exactly what we look at,” said McGovern.

There are seven different environmental categories: Sustainable Food, Waste Reduction and Recycling, Water Efficiency, Sustainable Furnishings and Building Materials, Energy, Disposables, and Chemical and Pollution Reduction.

Cameron said there are some areas her restaurant really excels at and others that they need to take a closer look at.

“We recycle everything, and that’s a big deal. We also have thermal solar panels, which heat our water,” said Cameron. “What’s great about doing this is that it’s really providing me an education.”

Cameron also said that art and music are a big part of what they do.

Not only does Uncommon Ground have daily live music, it also has artwork that can be purchased.

“It is a community that I really support, and it is important that art stays in our world,” said Cameron.

One of her goals is to help others learn to do rooftop farming and grow food in the city. Cameron said she wants to “pass it along and be open to helping other people do what we are doing.”

Adolph Parker opened his furniture store on South Cottage Grove Avenue in 1934, at the height of the Great Depression.

Despite record unemployment, Parker’s business grew because he established good relationships with his customers, offering payment plans and credit, said Loron Kaplan, Parker’s great grandson and a member of the fourth generation to run New Age Chicago Furniture Co. at 4238 S. Cottage Grove.

“My great-grandfather laid a foundation based on trust and nothing else,” said Kaplan. “We would trust customers and help them get credit established. We were able to build relationships early on with our customers. The relationships continue with their kids and grandkids.”

While today’s economy isn’t as bad as it was during the 1930s, the economic issues Kaplan sees – high unemployment, foreclosures, limited discretionary spending – are similar to what his great grandfather faced when he started the family-owned business 75 years ago.

New Age Chicago Furniture, photo by Juan Francisco Hernandez

But Kaplan and other business owners on Cottage Grove, between 43rd and 47th streets on Chicago’s South Side, aren’t confronting the current recession alone. Many are members of CG43, a business association designed to develop marketing strategies that help local retailers spotlight high-quality products available in the community. (To read about a complementary effort to conduct retail tours in Bronzeville, please click here.)

The business association, which serves North Kenwood, Oakland and portions of Douglas and Grand Boulevard, is a program of NCP lead agency Quad Communities Development Corp. (QCDC).

“CG43 creates a sense of density and allows the participating businesses to co-brand and co-market,” said Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, QCDC’s executive director. “The key for a lot of businesses is to give them the tools to move forward, to be a little more prepared.”

One of those tools is Chicago Community Ventures, a consulting firm that develops, manages and provides coordinated business assistance to residents and business owners in underserved neighborhoods. Johnson-Gabriel said that CCV helps businesses “make forecasts properly in this downturn and make sure everything is O.K.”

Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics also focused attention on the Cottage Grove corridor with nearby Washington Park as the proposed site for the Olympic Stadium.

Despite the poor economy, economic diversity in the area has improved. Since 1990 households making more than $50,000 have increased by 88 percent.

But along with this increase in income diversity, the area has experienced a modest population decrease and a modest decline in family size, as has been true for the rest of the region. Age diversity, however, is continuing to grow. In addition, rates of homeownership have increased since the early 1990s. These factors all imply that the Quad Communities area has a stable residential base for neighborhood-oriented retail.

$2 out of $3 spent elsewhere
The corridor, a prime area for commercial and residential development, has an annual buying power estimated at $675 million, according to a recent analysis by LISC/MetroEdge. Currently $2 out of every $3 is spent outside of the neighborhood – revenue that could be coming directly to local businesses. In particular, the area lacks dining opportunities and has unmet demand for general merchandise stores.

QCDC and the CG43 members want to keep those dollars close to home. The agency, said Johnson-Gabriel, worked with the city to get sidewalks repaired and bicycle racks installed on Cottage Grove, making the street more pedestrian friendly.

Planters in front of Sensual Steps, photo by Juan Francisco Hernandez

Distinctive acorn lighting fixtures were added, as were 16 planters and four murals between 43rd and 46th streets. The effect, said Johnson-Gabriel, was to “create a sense of place and beauty; to tell people something is different here.”

Those amenities alone, however, haven’t been enough to stop business from falling at Kaplan’s furniture store. But were it not for rebuilding in the area during the last five years, Kaplan said the impact on his business could have been worse. Construction and rehabbing in the Cottage Grove corridor “helped quite a bit,” he said.

In general, other CG43 business members also reported a decline in foot traffic earlier this year. As a result, many of them are taking innovative steps – such as renting out their space for other events – to promote their businesses.

Sales at Sensual Steps, a shoe store at 4518 S. Cottage Grove, are down 20 percent this year, said owner Nicole Jones, former NCP director at Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp.

“Business was a little tough and it took a strong effort to sell,” she said, “but I’m not waiting for foot traffic.” She’s using Facebook and MySpace pages to promote her store.

“It allows products and services to be seen across the board – not just locally,” she said. “It‘s a way to be proactive, retain business and reach out via the Internet.”

The store, which opened in April 2005, is also the site for special events when Jones rents out the space. “It’s a way to bring in revenues during this economy and partner with other CG43 businesses,” she said.

Jones also offers Heels on Wheels, where she brings her shoes and accessories to customers through private parties. “I’m very hopeful that everything will work out,” she said. “It’s not easy right now. Customer service is everything to me.”

Margo Strotter and Ed Singleton, owners of Ain’t She Sweet Café at 4532 S. Cottage Grove Ave., said business earlier in the year was “decent, but it could be better.” Like Jones, Strotter also rents out the café for meetings and workshops during off hours.

Toughing it out
And so it goes for businesses throughout the neighborhood; for Chris Brack and Milton Latrell, owners of Agriculture, an upscale men’s clothing, shoe and accessories store at 532 E. 43rd St.; for Trez Pugh and Richard Chalmers, of the Bronzeville Coffee and Tea, 528 E. 43rd St., who recently opened a second store, Regents Cup, at Regent Park at 5020-5050 S. Lake Park Ave.; for Adama Ba and his brother, Djibi Ba, who opened Goree Shop five years ago at 1122 E. 47th St., selling authentic African clothing, jewelry and accessories; for Tim Schau’s Zaleski & Horvath Market Café at 1126 E. 47th St., which he describes as a neighborhood store; for Faye Edwards, owner of Faie African Art at 4317 S. Cottage Grove Ave. They’re all toughing it out.

Bronzeville Coffee and Tea, photo by Juan Francisco Hernandez

Edwards participates with other CG43 members in events to promote the Cottage Grove corridor and rents out gallery space for special events. “This year feels better,” she said. “More people are coming in. Some of the fears about what is happening in the economy have dissipated a little.”

Despite the slow economy, the business climate in the Cottage Grove corridor is looking up, said QCDC’s Johnson-Gabriel. “We try to attract retail to the community. People are interested, despite the downturn. It’s not doom and gloom.”

Johnson-Gabriel acknowledged that the neighborhood isn’t without challenges, particularly considering that for so long there was “so much disinterest in the area. It takes a while to get things done. It’s important for people to see something tangible. The planters, the acorn lighting, the murals and the businesses – there’s an investment in this community,” she said.

And there’s the example of Adolph Parker, whose business started in the hardest of times 75 years ago and is still going strong.

CG43 Business Members:
•    Faie African Art, 4317 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Gallery specializing in quality African art and education.
•    New Age Chicago Furniture, 4238 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Furniture, appliances and electronics.
•    Goree Shop, 1122 E. 47th St. Hand-crafted, authentic African wear for men and women.
•    Agriculture, 532 E. 43rd St. Upscale men’s clothing, shoes and accessories.
•    Sensual Steps, 4518 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Women’s designer shoes, handbags and accessories.
•    Bronzeville Coffee and Tea, 528 E. 43rd St. Community coffeehouse with high quality coffee roasts, teas and pastries.
•    Ain’t She Sweet Café, 4532 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Healthy sandwiches, smoothies and desserts.
•    Zaleski & Horvath Market Café, 1126 E. 47th St. Specialty grocery and café offering sandwiches, coffee and catering.
•    Little Black Pearl Café, 1060 E. 47th St. Art café offering a variety of beverages and pastries.

For an article about retail tours being conducted in Bronzeville, please click here.

The Sept. 28 event on the Southwest Side featured 12 local restaurant and food vendors and more than 70 crafters and stores from the area.

Darlene Myers, the executive director of the Mount Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, said she hoped for the same success that Party in the Park had in recent years. Party in the Park was an event the chamber hosted for 12 years as a way to lead up to the 100th Anniversary of Mount Greenwood.

“We stopped hosting Party in the Park because we didn’t want it to take the spotlight away from the new Play Lot that was celebrating its opening,” she said. “But we still want money for Mount Greenwood, so we [the board of directors] came up the Taste of Mount Greenwood.”

The Play Lot was completed last year as a safe environment for the children of the neighborhood to play in.

Myers said one of the reasons the board of directors decided to host the event was to help promote local businesses.

“It’s all about raising money,” Myers said. “Especially for the restaurants who aren’t doing so well.”

The vendors who participated in the event were mostly based in the area. But one couple came all the way from Pittsburgh to take part in the Taste.

Heather Kahoun, owner of Fudgie Wudgie, said she heard about the Taste through another vendor and decided to take part to help out the community where her friends and relatives live, although their facilities are in Pittsburgh.

“I came here today hoping to find fundraisers,” she said. “We do fundraisers for schools and give 30 percent back.”

The Taste of Mount Greenwood had much more to offer than just sampling food from vendors and looking at the unique crafts from the area. The event included activities for youngsters to enjoy like a petting zoo, face painting and a pop-up jungle gym donated by a local business.

Christine Hermes, 21, said she believed the event appealed to people of all ages.

“This was a really great idea,” she said. “The petting zoo is great for the kids, but the cars and band are also something that people my age can enjoy. The animals are really adorable.”

A.J. Malone, 21, said his favorite part was the car show.

“I think it was a great thing to incorporate into an event like this. I know I would come again next year just to come look at all these great vintage cars,” he said. “It’s a cool thing for the guys in the area to come out and let us drool over their cars.”

Myers hopes that this event will continue next year, and it will pick up where Party in the Park left off.

“When we started Party in the Park, not too many people knew about it, and only about 200 to 300 showed up,” she said. “By the end of it, attendance was in the thousands. I hope we can have the same success with the Taste.”

Restaurants inviting diners to bring their own bottle, or BYOB, are gaining in appeal and growing in number. There are close to 500 restaurants listed as BYOB on various online restaurant directories; the city’s BYOB options are astounding.

Molecular gastronomy and foie gras may have garnered headlines and dining dollars in recent years, but trends are relative; they can only predict so far out into the future. After all, there were few who saw the current housing/credit/job market crash coming. So when it comes to eating out now, as with almost every other aspect of life, it’s the economy that’s influencing dining decisions. For that reason, it’s BYOB’s moment to shine.

“Obviously, the cost-saving is the main appeal,” says Sue Tomko of Chicago, who dined recently at Pizza Rustica, a favorite Wrigleyville BYOB.

Opting for BYOB isn’t just about money. It also suits Tomko’s taste. “It’s the fact that you aren’t limited to what’s on the menu – you can bring your favorite [bottle] with you. The fact that it’s now also legal to also take home whatever you don’t finish [without scoffing open container laws] makes it especially cost-effective because you’re not leaving any behind. But we never seem to have any left to take home.”

Chicago has a BYOB for just about every ethnic cuisine. Search Yelp! and similar restaurant listing pages, and you’ll find everything from Korean bbq to Moroccan to Mexican. But Asian-focused restaurants appear to be the most popular BYOB addresses.

“I don’t know what it is about Thai restaurants, in particular, but there are a lot of them that are BYOB,” says wine educator Christine Blumer. “Thai, Vietnamese and places in Chinatown. These are the restaurants that seem to dominate BYOB.”

Blumer, who runs WineDiva Enterprises in Chicago, thinks the city’s geography may play a role in making BYOBs a winning concept for restaurants. “Chicago is stereotypically a city of neighborhoods, so there certainly are a lot more neighborhood ‘joints’ that might opt for BYOB. They’re the tiny places that can afford to stay open without a liquor license.”

But BYOB is not just for the tiny curry house on the corner. It’s a feature at several local restaurants that serve more typical upscale cuisines.

Devotees of Schwa, the tiny, cultish BYOB storefront on Western Avenue, liken chef-owner Michael Carlson’s compelling, thoughtful prix fixe menus to creations served at nearby Alinea and Spain’s El Bulli.

Processco sommelier Victoria Vanourek favors a Logan Square BYOB precisely because it isn’t your average BYOB night out. “Sweets & Savories has beautiful stemware and people who know how to serve wine,” she says. “You’re going to drop a lot [for the food], so bringing favorite bottles of wine to pair with the food is an advantage.”

The Illinois Restaurant Association doesn’t keep a detailed record on the history of the BYOB concept in Chicago. It does acknowledge, however, that the city’s notoriously difficult-to-obtain liquor license has probably spurned the unprecedented number of BYOB’s that continue to open and operate in seemingly greater numbers than in New York or Los Angeles.

New York’s higher retail space rents might work against BYOBs in ways that haven’t yet affected the Chicago scene. As the WineDiva points out, “Most restaurants make their margin on booze, so a lot of places in New York or L.A. may need to keep liquor [on the menu] in order to meet those costs.”

Vanourek sees Chicago’s BYOB scene as a step in the evolution of a young or breakout chef-owner. “There are many of new restaurant owners that worked under famous chefs here in the city or were line cooks at big restaurants that can’t afford the liability, the dram shop insurance when they open a place of their own.”

Both Vanourek and Blumer note the BYOB trend growing at places that have liquor licenses.

“I was just at Socca for their BYOB night last Monday, and I appreciated the fact that I could bring my own bottle and not have to pay the corkage fee,” says Vanourek.

“That [BYOB] option can really drive business on typically ‘off’ nights for restaurants,” adds Blumer.

Restaurants carrying liquor licenses would normally charge a corkage fee for the privilege of opening your favorite bottle – so long as that bottle isn’t featured on their own wine list. In that case, you’ll most likely be asked to purchase it from their menu.

BYOBs, on the other hand, are – by law – not allowed to charge you for opening your bottle, although this practice does happen, even to sommeliers.

“There’s a favorite BYOB of mine – that I won’t name – that has charged me a corkage fee several times,” says Vanourek. She’s let it slide, but, “I’m thinking about bringing in a copy of the law the next time it happens.”

BYOBs may be slow to catch on outside of Chicago as various open container laws prohibit the practice. But trends start somewhere, and Chicago’s BYOBs haven’t gone unnoticed by top-rated publications like Zagat Guides and Food & Wine magazine.

“It’s just a great benefit all the way around – in price and choice,” says Sue Tomko.

If the city’s BYOB scene is any indication, the trend will thrive nationally even after housing prices rebound.

Residents of Chicago’s Near West Side will be able to shop at a full-service grocery store for the first time in four decades when Pete’s Fresh Market opens in 2011.

The local, produce-oriented chain was officially awarded the city-owned site at the intersection of Madison and Western during a meeting Aug. 20. A Giordano’s pizza restaurant also will open as part of the development, which will take about 16 months to build and serve West Haven, East Garfield Park and nearby communities.

Pete’s will offer dairy, meats, fish, poultry, bakery, deli and organic produce — but not pharmacy or alcohol.

“We’ll be coming out of the food desert shortly,” said Earnest Gates, executive director of the Near West Side Community Development Corp., which facilitated the selection process and served as lead agency in producing the community’s 2007 quality-of-life plan, “Rising Like the Phoenix,” which featured the grocery store as a key project. “It’s something that the neighborhood will be able to celebrate.”

Neighbors Development Network, comprised of about 300 homeowners, renters and public housing residents on the Near West Side, took up petitions to bring Pete’s to the community, said Andre Perrin, co-chair.

“We kind of coalesced around Pete’s two years ago,” he said. “We thought it met everybody’s needs. It’s affordable, high quality and has been helping to transform other neighborhoods.”

Perrin specifically mentioned Little Village, where Pete’s occupies a former Jewel location. “It’s been bringing that area back to life, and we envision it doing the same thing at Madison and Western,” he said.

Pete’s Fresh Market representative Charlie Poulakis said the store will encompass 55,000 square feet, and there will be an additional 10,000 square feet of development including Giordano’s and a couple of other restaurants or retailers yet to be determined.

The three-acre site at Madison and Western sits across from another shopping center anchored by a Walgreen’s.

Photo by Mike Quinlan

“We thank the people and all the parties that were involved, especially the alderman, and the people who supported us,” Poulakis said. “The people [who live nearby] motivated us to go to that location.”

“Providing West Side residents with easy access to food and shopping is a priority, because this area has been a food desert for far too long,” wrote Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) in his e-newsletter to constituents. “Pete’s is the best choice for the community. They have demonstrated a will to work with and hire from the neighborhood to ensure that local residents benefit fully.”

Produce, Dairy – But No Alcohol, Rx

During a May 6 meeting at Crane High School, where other finalists Jewel-Osco and Food 4 Less also presented, Poulakis said Pete’s offers most typical grocery store departments, except for pharmacy and liquor, and some in the diverse crowd of about 200 were happy to hear booze would not be included. The store will offer dairy, bakery, deli, meats, poultry, fish, organic produce and a salad bar.

“This is a food desert, not a pharmacy desert,” Poulakis said at the meeting, in a nod to the Walgreen’s across the street, although he later added that the store might include some non-prescription pharmacy-type items. “Pete’s likes to go into food deserts and make an oasis. This site fits Pete’s M.O.”

Fioretti co-hosted the meeting with representatives of the city’s newly reorganized Department of Community Development.

The chain, which accepts Food Stamps and LINK cards at its six existing stores on the South and Southwest sides of Chicago and one in south suburban Calumet City, Ill., expects to hire about 150 people at the Madison and Western store.

Fioretti said his office would work closely with Near West Side CDC to keep track of local hiring. Pete’s plans to provide job training before it opens and managerial training to all who qualify, and it pays butchers $16 per hour, according to Poulakis.

The city’s Department of Community Development considered numerous factors in making the selection, including time-line, financing, building design, community input, commitment to local and diverse hiring, commitment to environmentally-friendly features, the level of city assistance needed, and total cost.

“We don’t want it to go any longer than you do,” said Mary Bonome, deputy commissioner with the department, during the May meeting. “Trust me: This has been a long and very expensive process from the city’s perspective.”

Perrin expressed gratitude that the process had reached an end. “The community is extremely happy with the result,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’ll fill a big void that will make this neighborhood more of a true neighborhood, where you don’t have to go somewhere else to do daily activities.”

“The wait is over,” Amy Knapp, the other co-chair of Neighbors Development Network wrote in an e-mail announcing the deal. “It was a long fight but definitely worth it. Thanks to everyone for staying involved and being committed to making this a reality.”

Join the celebration on Aug. 16th for Pakistani Independence Day

Pakistan is frequently in the news because of violence and regional tensions. Pakistani nationals and supporters in Chicago will put these problems aside on Sunday, August 16 to celebrate the Independence of Pakistan. There will be a parade that takes place between 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. It begins on W. Devon Avenue, at Damen and Western followed by a fair or mela, in Warren Park.

There are about 120,000 Pakistanis living in the Chicago area. This year’s parade includes more than 30 colorful floats at the parade. The colorful clothes worn by the participants and the upbeat atmosphere make this a fun event for children of all ages- in the same spirit as the 4th of July parades. The Pakistani consul general will participate along with Ald. Bernard Stone (50th,) Ald. Joe Moore (49th,) and several other elected and appointed government officials.

The parade celebrates Pakistan’s independence day (also known as Yom-e-Istiqlal (Urdu: یوم استقلال .)) This is the day when Pakistan gained independence from the British Raj, as it was called then, and became an independent state August 14, 1947. In Pakistan, it’s a national holiday, celebrated all over the country with flag-raising ceremonies, tributes to the national heroes and fireworks. Here are some quick facts about Pakistan.

In Chicago, there is a “mela” after the parade, where you can savor the flavors and products of Pakistan. According to Wikipedia, “Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘gathering’ or ‘to meet’ or a Fair.” In rural areas of the Asian sub-continent, melas or village fairs, are important local events.
Around the world, south Asian diaspora communities wishing to bring something of that tradition to their new countries, put on melas. This year’s mela in Warren Park, 6601 N Western Ave., will feature the food of seven Pakistani restaurants for a global eating experience. There also will be about 15 clothing and merchandise booths along with information booths. The organizers have a musical program planned, too, which will begin about 5 p.m. in Warren Park.

If you bring your camera, send us your pictures of the parade and mela. And, دن اچھا گزرے (have a good day!)

Schedule for August 16th Pakistani Independence Parade and Mela:
(1) Assembly for Parade 11:00 a.m.
At: Damen & Western on Devon Avenue
Step off 12:30 p.m.

(2) Mela (Festival) immediately after parade
at 6600 N. Western Ave.
Location: Warren Park
2:30 p.m. til 7:30 p.m.

For more information, contact:
Pakistan Independence Day Parade Committee of Greater Chicago
P.O. Box #60101, Chicago, IL
Phone: 773-556-9993
Fax: 773-338-4569
Email: [email protected]
Hameed Ullah Khan : 773-556-9993
Chairman

Pakistan Azadi Mela 2009 | Home Page.

See photos of Pakistani independence day ceremonies in Pakistan.

Business leaders offer CSA opportuntities on Chicago’s South Side from Jennifer T. Lacey on Vimeo.

June 18, 2009 – Englewood residents and food justice activists will celebrate “the death of a food desert” when a new food market featuring local and organic produce opens for a community dinner and fundraiser Friday.

Graffiti and Grub, a project of urban farm pioneer LaDonna Redmond and “hip-hop educator” Wil Seegars, will open on June 19 for a healthy soul food dinner and a program of performances to celebrate Juneteenth. They’re raising funds to complete renovations of the store, with a full-scale opening planned for later this summer.

The store has been ten years in the making for Redmond. In 1999, after her son was diagnosed with severe food allergies and she couldn’t find organic produce in her own neighborhood, she and her husband Tracey began their own food garden.

A former organizer with the North Austin Coalition and co-director of Sisterhouse, Redmond took up the issue of access to healthy food more broadly, developing urban farm sites and a farmers market on the West Side, and operating Organico, an organic market at the Garfield Park Conservatory, for three seasons.

Today six farm sites in Austin and West Garfield are part of her legacy, along with a program in which 175 teens will be learning about green technology and installing urban farm sites and individual home gardens this summer. But her longterm goal was always to open a year-round grocery store.

Graffiti and Grub is “a community-based solution to the issue of food deserts,” she said. “Just bringing in an outside major chain grocery store isn’t enough” to address broader issues of health disparities for African Americans. “In addition to choices, people need a support system,” and Redmond describes the store as a “wellness center” providing information and education on food and health issues.

“There really does need to be local ownership in order to get businesses that are responsive to the community,” she said.

Seegars’ role is to foster creativity and entreprenuership among young people.

Local chefs are preparing meals — with and without meat, and vegan as well — and d.j.s and entertainers will be performing late into the night at Graffiti and Grub’s Juneteenth Celebration, Friday, June 19, starting at 5 p.m. at 5923 S. Wentworth.

Experimental Station, a community group in Woodlawn, started the market last June in an effort to create a local food infrastructure of healthy and organic foods for residents.

Woodlawn is on the border of two of Chicago’s food deserts, a term used to describe neighborhoods with severely limited access to grocery stores – areas where residents pass liquor stores, fast-food restaurants and convenience stores before they even reach a grocer.

Eleven convenience and liquor stores are closer to the Woodlawn’s center at 63rd and Woodlawn Avenue than the nearest grocery store. The neighborhood stores with hand-painted signs and misleading names like Freshway Foods and The Food Basket sell mostly liquor, cigarettes and soda.

“When I walk around the neighborhood I don’t see any grocery stores,” said Dennis Ryan, the market manager for the 61st Street Farmers Market. “I see convenience stores and fast food restaurants and liquor stores that might sell you a bag of chips or a soda, but nothing that has fresh fruit or vegetables.”

Woodlawn is a “borderline zone, that does have food access needs,” Mari Gallagher, the president of the Chicago-based National Center for Research says. Gallagher is the author of the 2006 study ‘The Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago,’ a study the market founders said was an inspiration to them.

“There’s not one single problem, and it will take multiple solutions,” Gallagher said. “A farmers market is still a good way to bring fresh produce into areas that need it.”

Kianna Crier, who lives three blocks from the market, said that the closest grocery store was at 75th and Stony Island in the South Shore neighborhood, a mile from the city’s southern border. “There’s really no place within walking distance for people to go to the store,” she said.

The market has the support of community leaders and is partnered with the University of Chicago’s Office of Community Affairs and the New Communities Woodlawn organization.

“It’s a great program,” said Community Affairs Vice President Sonya Malunda. “The university has worked with them and been very supportive.”

Even with dark clouds overhead, and a threat of rain, the small market is thick with people on June 6 – its second weekend of operation. Around 60 people visit the 20 vendors’ stands and listen to the acoustic soul music coming from the market’s center.

Shoppers are from Woodlawn and the surrounding area, but most are from Hyde Park. The market is open between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Saturday until September.

“Just being here is such an awesome experience,” said Aquila Sadalah on her way to perform at the market’s music tent. She said it symbolized something greater – “we’re getting that we really have to take care of our own.” Sadalah said vendors were getting valuable business experience and learning the importance of relying on “the community.”

The 61st Street Farmers Market is not supported by the city, unlike its counterpart Green City Market in Lincoln Park. Its 20 vendors is up from 10 last year, but still less than half of the vendors doing business on Saturdays in Lincoln Park.

The main difference between the two markets is location, and how that location affects goals and operations. 61st Street Farmers Market addresses and deals with very different issues than North Side markets.

Chicago’s food deserts are almost exclusively on the South and West Sides, far from the Green City Market, according to Gallagher’s study. Lincoln Park and nearby neighborhoods have plenty of grocery stores and shoppers with good incomes to support them. The average income of Lincoln Park’s 64,000 residents is over $83,000, according to the most recent census data.

61st Street Farmers Market manager, Dennis Ryan, was the Green City Market manager until he left a year ago to run the market in Woodlawn. He is in a unique position to compare the two.

“I think the big difference is that we are operating out of a food desert so our mission is to provide healthy…affordable food to a community that doesn’t have access to that,” he said.

The market accepts the Link card, and food stamps to make the food more accessible to Woodlawn residents. Almost all of Woodlawn’s 27,000 residents make less than $15,000 a year with many making under $10,000, according to the New Communities Woodlawn Project.

That makes it hard for residents to afford the pricier fruits and vegetables. But Gallagher says it will save money in the long run.

“Healthy food does cost a little bit more than unhealthy food,” she said. “But if you add to the price of fast food the cost of treating obesity and diabetes the cost is actually very high.”

The Dill Pickle Food Co-op, Chicago’s newest grocery co-op opening in Logan Square this summer, and will attempt to fulfill the need for natural and affordable food on the Northwest Side. 

Surprisingly, Chicago has played host to few such stores.

When Dill Pickle founder Kathleen Duffy moved to Chicago from New York in 2001 she was disappointed by the lack of independent grocery stores near her home. Duffy frequented the same tiny health food store for years in New York, and hoped for something similar in Logan Square, but found none.

“When I came out here I was looking for a little place like that, where I could just go in to get some milk, or a sandwich,” said Duffy. “There wasn’t even a privately owned store you could go to.”

At that time Chicago was home to just one grocery co-op, in Hyde Park. The inaccessibility of a Hyde Park grocery store and the lack of local stores inspired Duffy to take matters into her own hands. In 2004 she sent an e-mail out to 20 friends, mostly artists and activists living on the Northwest side, about organizing a food co-op. Duffy received 300 responses to her e-mail. Five years later, the Dill Pickle Food Co-op is months away from becoming a reality.

The Hyde Park Co-op Market closed last year after 75 years as the only grocery co-op in Chicago. The Dill Pickle Food Co-op, therefore, has big shoes to fill - and hopes to step into them by late spring or early summer.

The co-op, which is funded primarily by member equity, will function as a member-run, democratically operated grocery store offering locally produced, organic and fair-trade products. An annually elected nine-member board of directors will set policies and oversee activities.

Unlike some food co-ops, members and non-members alike will be able to shop at the store, to be located at 3039 W. Fullerton Ave. Members will also have the option of volunteering at the store and making decisions about products.

Any financial surplus the Dill Pickle has at the end of the year will be distributed back to members as a “patronage fund.” Memberships cost $250 but can be paid in $50 installments over five years. According to board president Bill Burdett, the co-op already has 330 members and they hope to reach 500 before opening.

The Dill Pickle Food Co-op takes its name from the Dill Pickle Club, which existed in Chicago from 1913 to 1932. A “coffeehouse, art gallery and speakeasy,” the underground club was frequented by writers such as Carl Sandburg and Sherwood Anderson, as well as radicals, artists and other intellectuals. In the spirit of the Dill Pickle Club, the co-op seeks to build more than just a grocery store in Logan Square.

Burdett said the co-op’s long-term goal is to become a “community hub,” supporting local producers, and offering alliances with community organizations and neighborhood businesses. Some of these include the Chicago Food Co-op, a buying club in Wicker Park, and the Logan Square Farmer’ Market, which is organized by the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce from June to August.

Executive Director Paul Levin says the Logan Square Chamber plans on working with the Dill Pickle in the future, and expects the co-op to be “quickly perceived as a new neighborhood amenity.”

Duffy is passionate about the store’s plan to build a strong community and meet local residents’ needs, explaining that the effort includes education, member involvement and quality products.

 “We have to teach them about what a co-op is, how it functions and why it is superior to walking into a Jewel,” said Duffy. All co-ops are different, she said, and this one must function as a reflection of the neighborhood and its residents. “A co-op in Logan Square is not going to be the same as one in Uptown.”

Another important aspect Duffy hopes to bring to the co-op is affordability. She said that while the co-op needs to promote healthy living through organic and fair-trade products, it should also meet the needs of its members, and the community. That may not always mean organic products, which tend to be more expensive and can’t always be locally produced.

“This is not just about being able to express our ideals, but also about being a viable business,” said Duffy. “There is a fairly large income disparity in Logan Square. We don’t want to exclude anyone from accessing these products.”

Duffy wants Dill Pickle to be a one-stop shop for all local residents, and to reflect the needs of the community, non-members included. A code of ethics being drawn up will ensure that every product in the co-op fulfills one standard, whether it is locally produced or affordable, though Duffy hopes most will meet more than one requirement.

Construction is currently underway. Board members are still waiting on several permits, but Duffy is still confident that the Dill Pickle will be open in about three months.

By Juel Grange

Andrea Tahlier, manager of Kroll's South Loop, says the end-of-year holidays are usually the restaurants busiest time of the year, but lately she’s noticed fewer customers at lunch time. “People just don’t seem to be going out for lunch anymore,” Tahlier said.

The bar at Kroll’s has boosted business. “When times are hard, people tend to be more drawn to bars,” she added.

Kroll’s is not alone in the slow down. Rising food costs and dwindling numbers of customers are hurting restaurants around Chicago. Restaurant owners say some consumers are choosing to eat out less while others are opting for cheaper eateries.

According to Reports from the National Restaurant Association, eating and drinking establishments have cut nearly 36,000 jobs in the last four months. In addition to the increase in job losses in the restaurant industry, eateries also have had to cut back on their employees’ hours.  The average weekly hours worked by non-management employees is only 24.1 hours.

Some restaurants have even closed their doors. Chain restaurants Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale closed many of their locations after their owner, S&A Restaurant Corp., filed for bankruptcy in July. Bakers Square owner Vicorp Restaurants Inc. filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in April.

In a survey conducted this year by the National Restaurant Association, 29 percent of restaurant owners and operators identified the economy as their No. 1 challenge.

Employees in many areas are feeling the pinch as well.

Aleya James, who works for Starbucks in South Chicago said, “After the economy started getting really bad, I noticed a decrease in the amount of hours I was being given. I work part time and attend school. The 20 hours or so that I was working, I needed to pay for necessities. It’s definitely a financial strain.”

Chicago residents say they are not frequenting restaurants as much because of rising costs and financial worries.

“I know to watch how often I eat out,” said Mia Madison, 42, from South Chicago. “I work downtown and I used to be able to buy lunch frequently. I eat out less, and if I do eat out it is unhealthy because I go to the Dollar Menu at McDonald's. I try to bring my lunch.” 

Vernon McCallum, 20, from South Chicago said, “The economy has definitely slowed down how often I eat out. Most people are losing their jobs or don’t have one. Nowadays I stay in and cook."

A rise in food costs is affecting restaurant profit as well. Since January last year, the average cost for a dozen eggs went up from $1.38 to $2.17. Milk increased from $2.67 to $3.54 a gallon and a loaf a bread is up to $1.26 from $1.01. The Consumer Price Index for Chicagoland has increased 4.4 percent, which is the highest increase since 1996.

South Loop Dunkin Donuts manager Ladarrius Wallace said his franchise is more affected by rising food costs than dwindling costumers.

Many consumers say they are going to less expensive places to dine.

Stephanie Mueller, 25, of North Chicago, said, “My eating habits have been greatly affected. I don’t go and do nice dinners anymore. I probably eat out not even three times a week. If the economy were better, I definitely would go to nicer restaurants as opposed to grabbing a sandwich."

Some restaurants have been impervious to the economic slowdown.

Lisa Ko, owner of Tamarind Restaurant in the South Loop, said HER business is not being significantly affected by the nation’s economy. Ko attributes Tamarind’s success to ability to draw business To good service, and above all, low prices. “We have good and affordable food,” she said.

Ko also said the restaurant is close to hotels and colleges, which also helps keep business steady.

Categories:
Business Food New Story

Aug. 29, 2008 – It’s a summer Thursday evening in the basement of the 11th District Police Station, and aerobics instructor Keith Spurlin is cranking up the R&B on a boom box to get the room full of about 20 adult participants moving and grooving.

WalkForce members generally 10 laps around the Garfield Park Conservatory, or about 2 1/2 miles.

Photo: Rishona Taylor

“Work that. Work that. Work this,” he intones. “Arms out. Little circles. Here we go. Arms up and down.”

Then he starts stepping up and down at the same time and pumps his fists like a boxer. “Here you go. Straight out.”

Then it’s toe-touches, stepping to the left and right, and stepping up and down while bent over.

“Hey!” yells out one woman, in mock indignation. A call of “jump!” provokes exhausted laughter.

After touching elbows to knees and kicking legs out in front, Spurlin calls out: “Is everybody loose? Is everybody loose?”

The Thursday night class, which began this summer, is a recent addition to a 5-month-old walking club, called WalkForce, that’s been motoring past the ferns and flowers at the Garfield Park Conservatory from Monday through Wednesday nights.

Club members, who number nearly 70 but usually total about 40 on any given night, generally do 10 laps around the conservatory, or about 2 1/2 miles, says Mike Tomas, New Communities Program director for the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.

The aerobics class on Thursday nights leaves some participants in pain — but with gain — on Friday.

Photo: Rishona Taylor

With funding from Advocate Bethany Hospital , WalkForce is free to members, Tomas says. In addition to the evening walks and Thursday aerobics, the club offers Saturday morning community walks and monthly health screenings for glucose, blood pressure, weight and body fat.

Spurlin, a personal trainer who holds a day job at the 11th District, said the local CAPS coordinator recruited him to teach the aerobics class on Thursdays. “Everybody gets up, and they give me their all,” he says. “I love it. We’re in this life to live as long as we can live. We all know friends who left too young.”

Health concerns prompted Diana Cancer, a member of the New Communities Housing Committee in East Garfield, to join the WalkForce after “a young lady called me. I said, ‘How did you know I was fat over the telephone?’ We had a laugh,” she recalls.

Sherry Lawyer has high-blood pressure, suffered a stroke on New Year’s Day and learned she had an aneurysm a month later. “The doctor told me I had to do a lot of walking,” she said. “My cousin recommended [WalkForce] to me.”

Health concerns have prompted many of the 67 members to join WalkForce.

Photo: Rishona Taylor

Her sister, Shellia Lawyer, said the high-blood pressure runs in their family, on their father’s side.

“It’s been educational because of learning how to eat better,” she says. “Keith kills us on Thursdays. We can barely walk on Friday.”

Marvin Adams, a diabetic who’s had back surgery four times, walks about two miles every day and has dropped from 223 to 201 pounds in less than two months. “They told me to leave the remote alone and do some exercise,” he says.

Darlene Hooper lives within walking distance of the conservatory and likes to get involved in activities there. “It was free,” she says. “There were a lot of incentives [listed] on the flyer. The health piece is very important.”

Vanessa Jackson says she’s been active in sports her whole life. “It was refreshing to know that we had something like this in our community,” she says. “The whole experience is wonderful. It’s been very motivational to see the older members of the community.”

To learn more about WalkForce, contact Rishona Taylor at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, (773) 638-1766 x17 or [email protected].

What sets Molly’s Cupcakes apart from other bakeries and coffee shops is a combination of the atmosphere and the goodies they sell. With homemade desserts, a cozy, family-like environment and the promise of giving back to the community, Molly’s Cupcakes is truly one-of-a-kind.

The story behind the name of the cute-as-a-button Lincoln Park bakery is as sweet as the treats it sells. Owner John Nicolaides named the café in honor of his elementary school teacher. He fondly remembers her bringing cupcakes to class every time a student had a birthday.

See Molly’s cupcakes as others see them.

“I was in third grade so I had a slight crush,” Nicolaides said.

Walking into Molly’s Cupcakes is like taking a step back into your childhood. An antique school desk holds stacks of board games and the walls are decorated with keepsakes of old schoolhouses, including ice skates and cookie jars. Circular tables resemble multi-colored lily pads for families, couples and singles to sit and enjoy dessert.

“They take care of me here,” James Carlson, 23-year-old customer said, holding a cupcake loaded with vanilla frosting and rainbow colored sprinkles.

Cupcakes are comparatively cheaper at Molly’s, according to Nicolaides, where places like Cupcakes and Swirlz Cupcakes charge $3-$3.50 for a basic cupcake and Molly’s charges $2.

“The first time I came here I couldn’t help but notice the size of the strawberries. They were so big that I just had to buy the strawberry shortcake cupcake,” said Peri Phillips, 22-year-old Lincoln Park resident.

Cupcakes range from $1 to $3.50, offering Mini Molly’s, Molly’s, Build Your Own, Vegan, and Center-Filled cupcakes.

Build Your Own cupcakes allow you to choose from chocolate, vanilla, carrot or red velvet cake. Frostings available are chocolate, vanilla, cream cheese, brown butter and French butter cream.

Toppings behind the counter allow you to personalize your cupcake and they include hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, chocolate chips, M&Ms, and gummy bears.

Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can do it yourself at the sprinkle station. Plentiful amounts of sugary toppings share counter space with the honey, cream and coffee stirrers.

“Me and my sister got vanilla,” a young boy said excitedly as a smeared red heart painted on his cheek rubbed against a swing chair, “I got sprinkles, she didn’t.”

Separate containers keep cupcakes at different temperatures. If you’re dining in, Molly’s Cupcakes will dish out a warm cupcake, and if you’re on the go they’ll sell you a cool cupcake that’s been held in a refrigerated section.

Coffee is the same price as a regular cup at Starbucks, Nicolaides said, but he believes their coffee tastes better because he serves Intelligentsia brand coffee.

Aside from coffee and cupcakes, Molly’s Cupcakes also offers cookies, pies, tarts, parfaits, milkshakes and homemade ice cream.

Sit in a chair that resembles a park-like swing that hangs from the ceiling while you enjoy your tasty treats. If you’re lucky, Nicolaides will let you help fold cupcake boxes.

“When regulars come in they’ll sit up at the counter and they’ll say ‘Hey give me some boxes, let me help you fold,’ I’ve even done it to people who come here for the first time, I go ‘Here fold some boxes,’ And they love it!”

He said it gives the café a communal atmosphere, “Don’t worry, we don’t make everybody fold boxes,” he joked.

Time Out Chicago voted Molly’s Cupcakes the best new bakery for its Eat Out Awards of 2008.

“The award is indicative of how good we are,” he said, explaining that when the voting was done, the bakery had only been open for eight weeks compared to bakeries that were opened for a year or more.

Nicolaides is a firm believer in good education and is proud to be involved in giving back to local schools. His brochure announces, “In appreciation of Molly, part of our profits go to help schools in our community. So eat up!”

The café donated its store space for a party Alcott Elementary School held.

“It was a huge deal because we had to shut down shop and we weren’t getting any sales,” he said.

They donated 500 cupcakes to the Children’s Memorial Hospital and 500 cupcakes to Lincoln Park Zoo for a fundraiser.

“We’re very new still so we have to make sure we have enough to break even before we do things like that,” he said.

Before Molly’s Cupcakes opened in December, the space formerly housed a Quiznos. Nicolaides said he was worried about opening up where a franchise once thrived then failed.

With monarch businesses like Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, Argo Tea and Einstein Bagels in walking distance from his café, Nicolaides knew he would have competition.

“Cupcakes are an impulse item,” he said, “And we get a lot of foot traffic.”

On a sunny afternoon a customer came in looking for banana nut bread and discovered it had not been made that day. The employee behind the counter suggested calling ahead next time so she could have it ready for pick-up.

“As much as we try, Starbucks just can’t be as intimate and personable with its customers as a local shop can, and that can turn people off,” downtown Chicago Starbucks employee, Alicia Wilson, said.

Nicolaides said his revenue is slightly higher than he anticipated before opening and he is optimistic it will continue to grow. He’s considering opening up a location in Bucktown in the near future, but plans are still in the making.

The icing on the cake is the late-night hours at Molly’s Cupcakes, located at 2536 N. Clark. They’re opened until 10 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends. For more information call 773-883-7220 or just walk in, sit down and fold some boxes with the owner.