A small but unique Black-owned grocery store recently opened on the South Side to provide food options for residents suffering from a food desert.
A small but unique Black-owned grocery store recently opened on the South Side to provide food options for residents suffering from a food desert. Fresh Family Foods, 336 E. 95th St., near the campus of Chicago State University, will have its official grand opening on Thursday but the store is already making a difference in the community, said founder Quentin Love. “I have seen regular customers come here twice to get fresh fruits so already we have made an impact on a community with few food choices,” he told the Defender. “This store may be small in size but it is large when it comes to food choices.” The one-story grocery store boasts 2,500-square-feet and offers fresh fruits, vegetables, juices and meats. Customers can also purchase pastries, such as homemade cakes and cup cakes, customized dinners to go, such as pepper steak, chicken and smoked turkey as well as flavored popcorn, including caramel and cheese. But the store does not sell alcohol or tobacco products. Love, an established entrepreneur, is the founder of the popular Quench chain of restaurants on the South, West and North Sides. He partnered with entrepreneurs Dianna Wiley and LaDonna Redmond to make the store a reality. “This is an urban boutique grocery store that is giving the community what it needs,” Love explained. “We fit into people’s lives but on a much different level.” For now the store employs seven people and Love said he plans to hire more people as the business grows. Wiley lives nearby and can walk to the store. “I have lived in this community for years so I know what the community needs,” Wiley said. “It feels good to live and work in your community. But this store is just the beginning of more to come. We hope by opening up this store it encourages other Blacks to open up businesses to create jobs and provide services sorely needed.” Unlike some businesses that surround the cash register area with bulletproof glass, Fresh Family Foods does not use such security measures. “I understand why some businesses feel the need to use bulletproof glass but I think it is an insult to the customer when they have to shop at stores that do not trust them,” Wiley explained. “No one wants to communicate through glass as if they are visiting an inmate at a prison. We treat our customers with respect and trust that they will not only enjoy their experience here but will do so without resulting to violence.” Redmond added that CSU students receive a discount on purchases and the store’s prices are competitive with most other grocery stores. “A box of cereal will cost you around $4.79 here and at many mainstream grocery stores a box of cereal starts at $5,” said Redmond. “We are locally-owned and managed and plan to recycle dollars back into the community.” And its owners tout the new store as the only Black-owned grocery store in Chicago. Previously, Farmers Best Market, 1424 W. 47th St. and Chatham Food Center, 327 E. 79th St., were the only known Black-owned grocery stores in Chicago. However, in 2008 Chatham Food Center founders Leonard and Donna Harris sold the store to a non-Black owner, and at Defender press time is was unclear if Farmers Best Market was still open although its Web site remains active but the store’s phone number was disconnected. Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender
(Defender/Wendell Hutson)