With all of this hype about the building boom now moving into the loop proper, has anyone noticed a particular oversight?

They forgot to build a grocery store!

Where are those guys gonna get their kiwi fruit, fat-free yogurt, organic turkey, and fresh-squeezed orange juice? Seriously, guys--the loop proper needs a grocery store BADLY

Well, the LOOP have a white hen or how about that store under this vertical mall on Michigan Ave, about 2-3 blocks away from the water tower Place??

I think the mall is call "chicago place" @700ish North Michigan. I think the store is call Bockwinkel's.

I don't know the specifics, but there is the Jewel store on N. State Street, and I read an article that there was a Whole Foods Market opening up potentially under one of the new high rise developments.

If you have access to a car or the Red Line, there is of course a Jewel right off the Roosevelt Stop that is open 24 hours and there is a Dominicks located right off the Fullerton stop. Rather inconvinent, but not impossible to access. I'd rather see more 'urban markets' in the downtown area rather then a Jewel or Dominicks anyways.

"If you have access to a car or the Red Line, there is of course a Jewel right off the Roosevelt Stop " or the Orange line and the Green Line.

"there is a Dominicks located right off the Fullerton stop" or the Brown/ Purple.

Thats 5 of the 6 "L" lines thats goes to downtown(didnt include yellow cuz it dont go to downtown)

There's a small/dirty one underneath the Hyatt Regency on Wacker, part of the underground mall/walkway.

As a resident of the heart of the Loop, I can say that groceries are not the issue. Get us a damn video store!!! (Yes I know about Netflix, but I want instant gratification.)
Groceries are not really that hard to get. There is a Dominicks at Madison and Halstead with a #20 bus in front that will wisk you into the Loop in just moments. There is Jewel-Osco on the corner of State and Grand with a subway entrance outside the door, and three blocks up is a Whole Foods on Huron between State and Dearborn.
As for an actual grocery store in the Loop? Well, I think that is a ways off in the future. There isn't enough of a residential base here yet to warrant the cost of putting one in. Let them finish MoMo, the 72 Story building on Jewelers Row, the Lofts at State and Monroe, and whatever residential they are going to do on B-37. Then and only then might there be enough residential units to sustain a grocery store.
There also my finally be enough units by that point to sustain a friggin video store as well.

With all of this hype about the building boom now moving into the loop proper, has anyone noticed a particular oversight?

They forgot to build a grocery store!

Where are those guys gonna get their kiwi fruit, fat-free yogurt, organic turkey, and fresh-squeezed orange juice? Seriously, guys--the loop proper needs a grocery store BADLY

Is it hype? The growth in the loop? Or factual?

Lakeshore East's shopping complex is supposed to have a market. I would suspect something along the line of Fox & Obel or the Market Place.

Azn, isn't the one in Chgo Place called something like Boewinkle?

Personally what I would love to see open downtown is Sunset Foods. They are fantastic markets on the North Shore and have a lot of people who live downtown that are used to shopping there. Sunset is definitely a cut or two above Treasure Island.

As a mid-atlantic resident, I think the best supermarket in the world is Wegmans. Its sort of a half Whole Foods/half regular supermarket. (And, for a non-sports fan, the best thing about the town in which I currently reside.) They won #1 in best place to work in Fortune magazine this year. Their employees are trained in high-end cheeses (and, I imagine, wine, outside PA). Does this have anything to do with this post? Not really, other than it would be great to see them expand into Chicago of course. They are as good if not better than Trader Joe's. And they are not afraid of cities -- Wegman's was born in the rust belt city of Rochester, NY.

I'm surprised there aren't that many in the city, with so many people living there now. Toronto's got like a dozen.

Chicago has alot downtown.

Bockwinkels (700 N. Michigan)
2 Treasure Island (Division/Clark) (McClurg/Erie)
Dominicks (Halsted/Washington)
Whole Foods (Huron/State)
Potash Brothers (State/Delaware)
Domincks (Grand Plaza)
Dominicks (River East)
Jewel/Osco (Wabash/Roosevelt)

Tons of smaller ones like Streeterville Market, Delaware Plaza etc.

Fox & Obel Food Market (Illinois & McClurg)

Chicago has alot downtown.

Bockwinkels (700 N. Michigan)
2 Treasure Island (Division/Clark) (McClurg/Erie)
Dominicks (Halsted/Washington)
Whole Foods (Huron/State)
Potash Brothers (State/Delaware)
Domincks (Grand Plaza)
Dominicks (River East)
Jewel/Osco (Wabash/Roosevelt)

Tons of smaller ones like Streeterville Market, Delaware Plaza etc.

I thought Grand plaza was a jewel.

I thought Grand plaza was a jewel.

It is a Jewel-Osco, shop there all the time.

^Doesn't it have a special name? Like a special rebranded Jewel-Osco to seperate it from what a traditional outlet would sell.

I'm nothing, if not persistently obnoxious, so I'll throw this one back on the table even though I mentioned in two or three posts ago:

anybody out there familiar with Sunset Foods on the North Shore (Nbk, HP, LF, Lib)? They are a full line gourmet super market, somewhat like Treasure Island, but truthfully much more gourmet and with far better products of its own (the deli, for example).

The place is an absolute institution on the North Shore. So many North Shore folks retire and move downtown. I would think Sunset could amke a fortune downtown, not only serving these people, but by offering the kind of food and service perfectly suited to the downtown & lakefront life styles.

anybody have any thoughts on this one?

Fox & Obel Food Market (Illinois & McClurg)

^I'm not referring to downtown.

I'm referring to lack of grocery stores in the Loop Proper (ie south of the river, north of Congress, west of the expressway)

^I'm not referring to downtown.

I'm referring to lack of grocery stores in the Loop Proper (ie south of the river, north of Congress, west of the expressway)

Sorry....

Found these loop zip codes then looked them up on the U.S. Census Pages for the year 2000:

60601 Loop 5,591
60602 Loop 70
60603 Loop 378
60604 Loop 78
60605 Loop, Near South Side 12,423
60606 Loop, Near West Side 1,682
60607 Loop, Near West Side, Near South Side 15,552

The inner loop looks to be pretty low on people still.

Add the following for Downtown Totals and you can see why their are Grocery Stores located in those portions of downtown Chicago:

60610 Near North Side, Near West Side 47,153
60611 Near North Side 26,522
60612 Near West Side, West Town 37,990

I am in 60602, and I can attest that that count of 70 people in 2000, will increase to at least 1200 by 2010. In the 2000 census, there was only one residential building in 60602, located at the NE corner of State and Monroe.
Today there are 4 more residential buildings (208 and 212 West Washington, 20 North State, and "Da Mayors" new home at "The Heritage" [130 N Garland Court], for a total of more than 700 units). When you take into account the new building on Jewelers Row and what may be built on Block 37, that number could be well above 1200. Still not enough to warrant a major grocery store.

http://img265.echo.cx/img265/4008/zipcodearea606022vy.png

Daley's manison ^. How can anyone forget about Block 37?

There is 35,000 people without a grocery store. Thats isnt that bad, At least there some less than 0.5 miles at roosevelt + state.

there aren't enough residents within the Loop proper yet to justify a supermarket, especially since it's astonishingly expensive to assemble the land necessary for a 40,000+ foot floorplate. eight full-size supermarkets--three Jewels [Grand Plaza, Kinzie Station, Roosevelt], two Whole Foods [Huron, Roosevelt], and three Dominick's [Cityfront, Skybridge, Roosevelt]--have opened or are under construction within one mile (a reasonable walk, really) of the Loop; that's only appropriate, since most of the residential growth is actually outside the Loop.

there are a good many smaller markets around, from the ubiquitous convenience/sundry shops in most office and apartment tower lobbies to the slightly larger versions (e.g., Bockwinkel's and the Market Place*; Potash Bros. and Fox & Obel also aren't supermarkets, per se) that many residents seem to be happy with. I've been surprised at the extent of what's available from farmer's markets, Marshall Field's, and other non-supermarket venues. lately, I've found that maybe 1/5 of my food purchases are done in supermarkets; much of the rest goes to smaller retailers. it might not be as cheap or convenient, but the food's fresher and of higher quality. remember, city dwellers in most of the world buy their food from smaller retailers.

that said, one discarded plan for the MoMo site included a fresh food market (of small vendors, akin to Pike Place) at the ground floor, operated by the founder (or former CEO?) of Dominick's. some kind of food operation is under construction as part of Lakeshore East's retail offerings as well.
.pc

* incidentally, the same owner also owns Village Foods in Hyde Park. somewhere back there, I think there's also an ownership connection to Sunset Foods, although I could be just confused on that count.

there aren't enough residents within the Loop proper yet to justify a supermarket, especially since it's astonishingly expensive to assemble the land necessary for a 40,000+ foot floorplate. eight full-size supermarkets--three Jewels [Grand Plaza, Kinzie Station, Roosevelt], two Whole Foods [Huron, Roosevelt], and three Dominick's [Cityfront, Skybridge, Roosevelt]--have opened or are under construction within one mile (a reasonable walk, really) of the Loop; that's only appropriate, since most of the residential growth is actually outside the Loop.


Was just thinking.

Jewel is located just off of the redline on grand. You walk up there stairs from the subway and there you are. Same thing with the Jewel at Division and Clark. At Roosevelt you can catch the Green, Orange and Red lines and be right there. That is pretty good access in my book.

I know...I shop hand carry trips...all the time anyway. Pedestrian oriented people think like a conveyor belt and I stop in the market and pick up things I need for that day or so. Unsually no big buys at one time.

Jewel at State and Grand is about as easy as it can get for me. I walk out my door, go down the steps to the subway, and two stop later I come up to the street and Woooop, there it is!
I would love to see a grocery store in the Loop proper, but I don't see that happening any time soon. I would be much happier if they could get a video store here (I know I have bitched about this before...).

I was just at chicago place and it looks like Bockwinkels shut down although they do have one over by the Domain. Anyone know what will be replacing Bockwinkel's space @ Chicago Place?

I'm getting the feeling that Block 37 (base AND towers) will have risen long before MetraMarket opens its doors. What gives? MetraMarket didn't even have to build a structure, being in Ogilvie, so why the stall? If they were truly successfully in renting space, this one would have taken ouff years ago.

^ The upper floors of Chicago Place are hopeless for retail, no? They should convert that to small offices or something if they can.

^ The upper floors of Chicago Place are hopeless for retail, no? They should convert that to small offices or something if they can.

CP sure is the stepchild of the Mag Mile's 4 vertical malls. If nothing else, they may have the best setting for a food court of the whole group with that glassed in atrium on the top level. If they could draw folks up there, that would help the other top floors.