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After a Six-Week Soft Opening, the Rogers Park Food Co-op is Letting Its Hair Down
If you're in the Chicago area and love food co-ops, as we do, then mark your calendar for Saturday, July 27. That day, Wild Onion Market in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood is holding a nearly day-long Grand Opening celebration that promises "music, magic, and prize drawings," along with the everyday assortment of "affordable organic staples, grab ’n’ go items, bulk foods, and more."
The event will be held at the store, located at 7007 N. Clark St., from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is no registration, just show up to party and shop.
Wild Onion Market opened its doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 12, but held off on the big Grand Opening celebration for a soft opening to test out their systems. FOODshed, a new co-op in the Chicago exurb of Woodstock, followed the same pattern, opening the store in mid-May but putting off the Grand Opening party for a month.
Wild Onion Market is open for shopping every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Here's their press release about the celebration:
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Rogers Park full-service grocery co-op to celebrate grand opening July 27
Public invited to enjoy music, magic, and prize drawings as they shop at this new local, community-oriented source of affordable organic staples, grab ’n’ go items, bulk foods, and more
• Grand Opening celebration at Wild Onion Market will be Saturday, July 27 from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
• The community-owned co-op grocery is open at 7007 N. Clark St (Clark and Lunt)
• Wild Onion Market now offers local, affordable, organic food in Rogers Park
CHICAGO--A month after its June 12 soft opening, Wild Onion Market, a full-service grocery co-op in Rogers Park, is putting on a gala Grand Opening on Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Since its soft opening, the fledging co-op has brought on several new vendors including local farms, breweries, and ferments vendors, and now offers prepared foods and fresh baked bread.
It also has obtained its liquor license and sells beer, wine and spirits.
Shoppers will find “all the best local offerings, affordable organic staples, and fresh produce, with great selections throughout the store from gourmet cheese to bulk grocery on regular, rotating sales,” said General Manager Teresa Meza.
Some twelve years in the making, the co-op store features a wide variety of grocery items with a focus on fresh produce and local products. It also features a bulk grocery section where shoppers can fill their own containers with beans, grains and more, as well as a tempting selection of grab 'n' go items.
The community-owned grocery is at 7007 N Clark (Clark and Lunt) in Rogers Park. Although the store is open to everyone, it will primarily serve customers and communities in Rogers Park, Edgewater, and West Ridge in Chicago as well as suburban areas like Evanston. The store at Clark and Lunt is conveniently accessible via bus, bicycle, Metra and the ”L”, as well as by car. There is parking on site.
On July 27, the Wild Onion Market will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The store’s regular hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
Background:
As a food co-op, the store is democratically controlled by its owners who elect a board of directors to oversee the store’s operations and finances. Wild Onion Market has over 2,200 owners and additional owners are always welcome.
The owners have invested in the store and are committed to being sure it fulfills its mission goals:
• Keep money in the neighborhood, rather than fill corporate grocery store coffers.
• Contribute to creating a food supply chain that is transparent, just, and accessible to Midwest farmers and producers.
• Provide fair-paying job opportunities in our neighborhood.
To become an owner and to learn more about Wild Onion Market, go to wildonionmarket.com or come to the store from 8 am to 8 pm any day of the week.
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