The member-owned grocery store Chicago Market is preparing for construction as it expects to open next year in Uptown’s historic Gerber Building, formerly home to the CTA’s Wilson station.
The 13,000-square-foot store at 4618 N. Broadway is being touted as the city’s largest cooperative grocer once it opens. It joins other co-op grocery stores such as Dill Pickle in Logan Square, Sugar Beet in Oak Park and Wild Onion in Rogers Park, which opened in June.
But Chicago Market manager Dan Arnett said the store’s size means it will have a bigger impact on the local economy and serve more customers. It’s much larger than other Chicago co-ops, and he expects sales to be five or six times more than its peers, creating more business for local producers. By comparison, Wild Onion is about 3,500 square feet, and Dill Pickle is 1,000 square feet.
The building had been vacant since 2015, when main entrance of the Red Line station was moved nearby, to Wilson Avenue and Broadway. Since 2018, Chicago Market has used the space for farmers markets and pop-up events.
The new store will sell locally and ethically sourced dairy, produce, meat, dry goods, frozen foods, prepared foods, baked goods and alcohol. It also will have a juice and coffee bar and host workshops and classes.
Chicago Market plans to hire at least 70 people when it opens around September 2025. It could expand its staff up to 160 people over five or six years.
Arnett said Chicago Market is a $12 million, for-profit business, but operates like a nonprofit, since it’s owned by members.
“It’s a genuine democracy where there is one vote per shareholder,” he said. “You can’t do a hostile takeover, whether you’re a billionaire or homeless.”
Ten years in the making
Arnett said there’s potential for Chicago Market to have a major social and community impact. Uptown isn’t a food desert, but the co-op’s community-led approach is missing in the area and largely across the city, he said.
“Chicago is perhaps the best least-developed market for natural food products in the country,” Arnett said. He moved from California to Chicago in 2021, when he was hired to manage Chicago Market. He previously managed co-ops in Kentucky, Seattle and Northern California.
Cities such as Minneapolis and Seattle have many co-op markets, for example, but there’s a dearth in Chicago even though it’s densely populated, diverse and has the most fair-trade businesses of any U.S. city, according to Arnett. “It’s really odd,” he said.
“You don’t see things like [Chicago Market] open often because the capital is hard to raise,” Arnett added. “Anything we do well has the potential of inspiring other initiatives.”
The founders of Chicago Market began laying the groundwork in spring 2013, and the co-op was incorporated later that year.
More than 2,400 members have raised $1.7 million through the purchase of common and preferred shares, as well as owner loans, where members loan money to the co-op rather than buying equity. The co-op also received $5.8 million in tax increment financing from the city, with the balance financed by a cooperative bank. Shared Capital Cooperative also provided a TIF bridge loan.
Anyone can become a member of Chicago Market by purchasing equity stakes of $250 or $500. The co-op also offers membership grants to people who need financial assistance.
Most members live nearby such as in Uptown, Edgewater, Rogers Park, Wrigleyville and Albany Park. Besides being near the CTA Red Line, Chicago Market also has parking.
To ramp up its supply chain, Arnett has been busy meeting with local food producers from farmers to ranchers. For example, recently he’s been working 18-hour days to visit Amish farmers in southern Illinois, who will supply jams, pickles, relishes and other products.
Chicago Market has also partnered with Chicago vendors such as Phoenix Bean Tofu, Metropolis Coffee, Gunthorp Farms, Janie’s Mill and more.
Food co-ops favor selling local, organic and fair-trade products. More than 1.3 million people in the U.S. belong to a food co-op that is a member of the National Co+op Grocers, according to the association.
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