- North Center neighbors OK downsized development Booster
- Landmark Evanston mansion goes condo Chicago Mag
- Daley won’t be “out-greened” by aldermen Reader
- Browse Chicago neighborhoods on Fave Gapers Block
- Flood just misses Farnsworth House New Modernist
- 2 strategies for Waukegan apartment deals Crain’s
- Put the Co-op out of its misery Hyde Park Progress
As a former Hyde Park resident and Co-op member/customer, I am very sad to read the current headlines about its problems. Perhaps the reason the 47th St. Store folded was a case of “too much too soon.” As everyone knows by now, the neighborhoods between Hyde Park and South Loop are growing rapidly, and a properly located large-scale grocery store is something they would have welcomed. Pretty soon I guess we’ll be reading about Jewel or Whole Foods going into the “burgeoning Bronzeville/North Kenwood corridor” and congratulating themselves on tapping this new market.
Yes, the Co-op may have higher prices than the big chains, but like most market-savvy “independents” it offset the higher prices with good customer service and “extras” like a post office and credit union in the building, not to mention discounts to members and community events. I suppose it’s one of those “you had to be there” situations for outsiders to apprciate.