Chicago Market Newsletter — November 2024
End of Another Great Farmers Market Season
Chicago Market's Vision is:
A better food community—local, sustainable, connected.
And one way we already realize that Vision is by bringing people together around local food at the Uptown Farmers Market we have now produced for four years!
The 2024 season served a lot more vendors, welcomed thousands of shoppers, and as always, worked to make food accessible to all through SNAP and by doubling that shopping power with Link Match vouchers for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Thank you to all our volunteers who make it happen, to Justin Weidl, our market manager, and to Kate Grimm and Matthew Ruffi on our team who produce the market. It was an amazingly wonderful season...and the weather gods were on our side—it never rained on a Wednesday during market hours for 28 weeks in a row!
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And thanks to Rick Baer for capturing all our wonderful photos.
We’ve kept you updated that we’re waiting for our construction permit from the City as well as for our bank loan and TIF funds to close. Updates on those below, but we have a new hurdle the Board is addressing right now.
In recent weeks some of our construction bids came back far too high to be tenable. This is driven in part by our requirements to hire a certain percentage of WMBE (women- and minority-owned business enterprises) and union workers (per our TIF agreement and Chicago Market’s values). And the other factor is that our planned general contractor is in Wisconsin and doesn’t have the local relationships needed to get the best pricing from subcontractors.
Our construction budget is set in the sense that we have raised the funds to cover the construction projections we had. We don’t have “extra” funds to cover these new costs, so we are doing two things in parallel:
- Dan and our StoreMasters design team are working intensely to value engineer things to lower costs. This may mean phasing or trimming in places, but we are committed to the store still meeting Owner goals and values. Good progress is being made here.
- The Board has been working with a women-owned project management firm here in Chicago who has strong relationships with local contractors, many of whom are WMBE-certified. With these new connections, we are in the process of rebidding some areas of the project to get more competitive pricing. The project management firm is supporting Chicago Market pro bono right now.
The firms we are working with understand our budget and are working with us to find solutions.
PERMITWe expect our construction permit soon.
BANK LOAN
Our bank is eager to close with us by the end of the year. The TIF closing would happen then too. Neither can close though until they see that our construction budget matches our bids from contractors.
No one on our team is happy about these delays, but a project like ours is complicated and the Board is working diligently on behalf of Owners to get our store open. Thank you for understanding the complexities and for continuing to support your Co-op.
New Secretary
Thank you to Howie Bollinger for his excellent service to the Co-op this past year as Secretary and we're thrilled to have our newest Board member, Maribelle Gomez, stepping up to take on the officer role of Secretary next. She brings great enthusiasm and a "get it done" attitude to the work and we are all looking forward to learning from her.
- Board Meeting — December 10, 7-9:00pm
News from Our Business Owners
Chicago Fair TradeShop for all of your holiday gifts at Chicago Fair Trade's 11th Annual Holiday Pop-Up Shop. This year they are popping up at 663 N. Michigan Avenue. Support local and global! Learn more here.
Collective Resource has added an owner benefit just in time for Thanksgiving. Collective Resource owners can get an extra bucket two times per year for free! Most people will need it in November or December but you get to decide. There’s still time to become a founding owner and join the folks on this list.
IRPINO Real Estate Presents their Local Business Spotlight series featuring local businesses in Chicago’s Uptown and Buena Park neighborhoods. The latest profiles CircEsteem, which creates a community and a sense of belonging for kids in Chicago through the engaging medium of circus arts.
Women's Circle Chicago is looking for future guest leads 2024-2025! Women's Circle Chicago is a monthly women's circle hosted at Yoga Body Elements Studio. They will gather on a Monday (Moon Day) each month to celebrate, move their bodies, personally and collectively set intentions, and serve the community together. Each gathering creates the possibility for connection through dancing/movement, song, bodycare products, meditations/yoga, and a closing circle. Bring a mug for ceremonial cacao.
Would you like to be considered as a Women's Circle Chicago guest lead?
Email your offering to [email protected] or text the wellness center 773-891-7071.
Get Involved
- Donate any amount here. (can be tax-deductible and recurring)
- Level Up your Ownership if you're not already a Cultivating Owner.
- Donate to our Ownership Grant Program.
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