West Side pop-up grocery getting permanent home
The owner of a pop-up market has a vision for a now-vacant West Side building: Aisles of locally grown produce awash with natural light, stocked alongside everything from prepared foods to a butcher.
That’s what owner Liz Abunaw wants for the permanent home of Forty Acres Fresh Market, a pop-up grocery operating on the West Side since 2018.
Abunaw has long wanted a brick-and-mortar site, and in June, she leased a space in the Austin neighborhood. After hiring architects, designers and a general contractor, she submitted a plan to the city in August.
On Tuesday, the general contractor invited local contractors to tour the space, review designs and begin bidding on contracts.
“I liken this project to an iceberg,” Abunaw said. “So many people don’t see work that goes into it, and it feels good to see some of that work finally come to the surface.”
The building, at 5713 W. Chicago Ave., used to house a Salvation Army thrift store but has been vacant since 2020.
At nearly 16,000 square feet, it’s bigger than a convenience store but about half the size of a typical supermarket, so it will offer fewer varieties in each category.
Abunaw said smaller scale can help shoppers, making the store easier to get in and out of. And she wants the locally grown produce to make it a destination, while also offering prepared foods for people on the go.
“I’m creating the store that I would want to shop at,” said Abunaw, who worked in sales for 10 years at General Mills.
She said the store would need about two dozen employees, and she wants to hire from the neighborhood.
A former Salvation Army store located at 5713 W. Chicago Ave. that is being renovated into a Forty Acres Fresh Market grocery store.
General contracting firm Brown & Momen will oversee construction and is hiring subcontractors for the site, including painters, masonry workers and steelworkers. The Black-owned firm, based on the South Side, has worked on a number of local projects, including the Obama Presidential Center, said David Clark, vice president of construction.
Clark, a 12-year veteran of the company, said the $5 million project would require around 25 subcontractors. A large wall in the center of the space must be removed, and the electrical system must be upgraded to handle 33 coolers and freezers. A loading bay and kitchen will be installed, and to let in more light, windows will be added to what is now a solid brick wall along the Chicago Avenue side of the building.
About 2,500 square feet will be set aside for a second tenant — Abunaw is thinking about a bakery, cafe, pharmacy or even a bank.
Kareem Broughton, president of Black Contractors United, was among those checking on the site last week. His organization, which has about 400 members, connects Black contractors with local jobs.
A carpenter by trade, Broughton said there wasn’t much work at the site for him personally, but he hoped to come away with ideas for work his members could bid on.
“We’re trying to make sure that if there’s an opportunity for smaller guys we can set up a pipeline for them to get jobs,” he said.
Clark expects it will be another two months before they get permits and start work. After that, he expects construction will take about nine months. No date is set yet for the opening.