New Lanes on 55th St. a Learning Curve

-posted by chicago pop

It is truly amazing what good urban design is capable of. New lines on the street, and a few physical impediments to nudge behavior in the desired direction, and we already have tangible benefits: traffic moving at a much slower pace the length of 55th, improved safety for pedestrians at crosswalks, and more cyclists riding in the street - as they should be - with more confidence.

The sticky part is getting motorists to go with the new parking program, and park away from the curb. As of last week, local car owners must still be thinking all that new paint on the street was some kind of public art:

To their credit, on at least one block in about this area last week, I saw about half a dozen cars parking in the boxed lane BETWEEN the curbside bike lane and the lane of traffic - where the cars are supposed to go. But those vehicles were a minority.

That may change quickly, however, if - as the HPP reader who submitted these photos reports -- vehicles parked in the bike lanes continue to receive tickets, as they began to last week. 

It would help, also, if more bollards were deployed to make parking in the bike lane physically impossible. My assumption was that these were on the way, but I don't know. It would make sense, after all this effort, to situate the bollards in such a way that the desired behavior was perfectly clear.

Everything comes with a learning curve. Even if it takes a few weeks for the locals get the hang of this, or maybe even the rest of the summer, in the long term it's what we call here at HPP 'real goddamn progress.' A round of applause to CDOT and to the Adlermen and traffic engineers and cycling/pedestrian activists who made this a reality. Sometimes an ingenious idea really can make the world a little bit more civilized.

Meeting on CDOT Plan to put Bike Lanes on 55th

 -posted by chicago pop

Props to 4th Ward Alderman Will Burns. This is one of the best ideas I've heard about in a while. It's all about slowing things down. And when it comes to crazy traffic on the South Side's underutilized roadways, that's how it should be.

Substantial stretches of King Drive, 31st Street, and 55th/Garfield would be altered to incorporate protected bike lanes, and improved pedestrian safety and crosswalks. This would be done at the expense of lane space currently devoted to vehicular traffic. As a CDOT rep put it on the GRID Chicago blog:

CDOT traffic counts show that all of these roadways currently have more travel lanes and/or lane width than needed to accommodate their traffic volume, and this encourages motorists to drive dangerously. While studies show that road diets work well on streets that serve under 20,000 cars a day, actually improving traffic flow in many cases, 55th Street currently serves only 13,500 cars a day and King Drive only carries 9,000 to 11,500 cars per day. Due to the lack of congestion on these roadways, the agency found that 54% of cars on King are speeding, and 15% or motorists are driving over 40 MPH.

I'm sure lots of cyclists will agree with this traffic analysis based on their personal experience. Here again we see the pathological effects of the South Side's loss of density relative to historic levels: streets like King, Cottage, Indiana, 55th and others are far wider than their current levels of traffic would demand.

The North Side can only dream of having the kind of capacity we have down here. King Drive has 8 lanes! 55th is likewise quite broad as it passes through western Hyde Park and so encourages speeding and disregard for pedestrians.

So why not make room for bikes?

Details on the meeting:

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is presenting on the 55^th Street safety improvement project this Wednesday, April 25, from 6:30 – 8pm. This project, between Cottage Grove and Lake Park, seeks to create a safe and comfortable roadway for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit users accessing Washington Park, the University of Chicago, Hyde Park, and the Lakefront. The main features include enhanced pedestrian crosswalks and signage, protected and buffered bike lanes, and a ‘Road Diet’ between Cottage Grove and Kenwood.

The meeting is open to the public.

Date:                           Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Time:                           6:30 – 8:00 p.m. 

            Reception:                   6:30 – 7:00 p.m.

            Presentation:   7:00 – 7:30 p.m.  

            Q & A:                         7:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Location:                     Alumni House in the Klowden Library

    5555 South Woodlawn Avenue 60637

Presentation by CDOT Project Development Staff:  Deputy Commissioner Luann Hamilton and Project Manager Mike Amsden

Thanks to HPP reader PM for the update.

Hyatt Hotel Coming to Harper Court

posted by chicago pop

The symbol of the University of Chicago is, being situated in a city famous for having once burnt to the ground, a phoenix. The symbolism remains vital, as the hotel that Hyde Park almost got in the 5th Ward on Stony Island and 58th Street will now be resurrected and take shape on the site of the old Harper Court, on Harper at 52nd.

The 53rd Street renaissance continues at a dizzying pace.

From Curbed Chicago:

Harper Court Partners released some details this morning about the hotel operator for Hyde Park's Harper Court. Olympia Chicago LLC and Smart Hotels, a company that specializes in campus hotels, have been selected to build and operate Hyatt Place Chicago @ Hyde Park. The six-story, 130-room hotel will be located on Harper, just north of 52nd Place, according to Christopher Dillion from Vermilion Development. The hotel, which is set to open in 2013, will feature underground parking, a restaurant, wine bar, pool, and fitness facilities....

From Crain's Chicago Business:

“A quality hotel has been a longstanding need for the community,” Dave Cocagne, president of Chicago-based Vermilion, says in the statement. “It will play a key role in the development of the 53rd Street corridor.”

Financing for the hotel is being provided by Recovery Zone Facility Bonds to be issued by the Illinois Finance Authority. Smart specializes in campus hotels, though no properties are identified on the company’s website, while Olympia operates 16 hotels, according to Vermilion’s press release.

Vermilion tapped the Smart Hotels-Olympia venture after issuing a request for proposals from hoteliers last fall.

Mr. Cocagne in January said Vermilion had letters of intent for 60% of the project’s roughly 80,000 square feet of retail space. The first phase, which has a roughly $100-million budget, is to include the hotel, retail and a 150,000-square-foot office building to be used at least partially by the university.

And, from the developers themselves:

Smart Hotels/Olympia Chicago LLC has been selected to build and operate the hotel, planned for Harper Avenue, just north of 53rd Street. Plans call for the LEED-designed hotel to have approximately 130 rooms, [and be] a destination on evenings and weekends, as well as during the work week.

Ed Small, President of Smart Hotels, said his team looks forward to presenting the preliminary hotel design to the community in March.

"This is an outstanding opportunity for us to bring a quality, environmentally-friendly hotel to Hyde Park," Small said. "The University, the City, IFA and MB Financial did extraordinary work to help us secure the project financing."

Hyatt Place Chicago @ Hyde Park is scheduled to open in 2013, to coincide with Phase I of the Harper Court redevelopment, which will also include retail, office, and outdoor spaces. Chicago-based LEgat Architects has been engaged to design the hotel.

The Olympia Companies has been in operation since 1969 and currently operates 16 hotel properties.

"We are excited to extent our portfolio of hotels to such a dynamic community and world-class university," said Kevin Mahaney, President and CEO of The Olympia Companies.

Cornell Avenue Gets a Sidewalk!

posted by chicago pop

One of the lesser-known barriers cutting off Hyde Park from the rest of the world is the absence of a sidewalk along Cornell Avenue as it runs along Burnham Park from 49th to 47th Streets.

This leafy stretch, which in summer offers the rudiments of a Madison County fantasy to motorists, has also acted as a green buffer zone between the Indian Village area and 47th Street. As anyone who drives this road can tell you, the lack of a sidewalk forces pedestrians to walk in the street year round, sharing space with vehicles often moving at high speed in both directions.

Laying down a sidewalk along this stretch is therefore a long-overdue but major improvement in pedestrian safety, walkability, and connectedness with the rest of Chicago. Bravo to whatever arm of City bureaucracy (or perhaps the 4th Ward Alderman?) is making this happen -- if they can do this, surely they can fix a bus stop that doubles as a bottomless pit!

Street Cleaning Progress?

posted by Elizabeth Fama

Signs of progress are appearing in Hyde Park...or at least in strategic spots on campus.

Ever since my year-long stint in Los Angeles, where these signs are the norm, I've wondered why the City of Chicago still sends Streets and Sanitation workers out to hang cardboard street-cleaning signs by hand. It can't be efficient. First, there are the man-hours involved in putting up and taking down the temporary signs (don't get me started on the workers who do this job by car, with the engine idling). Second, many car owners don't see the signs in time to move their cars. Third, on street-cleaning days parking is unavailable for six hours (9AM - 3PM), although it takes approximately 2 minutes for the machine to clean any given block.

The above signs solve these problems, and possibly two more: people will be less inclined to abandon their cars (operable or inoperable) for months at a time in one spot, and folks going on vacation will know to have a friend move their car.

As far as I can tell, the signs are so far only installed on heavily-parked streets (Drexel, Ellis, and Woodlawn roughly between 55th and 59th Streets), where having a mere 2-hour moratorium on parking every month, on a predictable day, will help to ease parking woes for University visitors and employees.

But I'd like to have them on my block, too.

FIRST AID COMICS

posted by Elizabeth Fama

Yes, Virginia, there is a comic store in Hyde Park.

This is an extremely important measure of urban progress that many of you may not be aware of.

First Aid Comics is at 53rd and Harper, hidden away on the 2nd floor (nested between Mane Objectives Salon and Hair Dare You), with only a Superman poster high in the front window to capture walk-by traffic. It opened on November 28th.

Despite its small-ish space, First Aid is crammed with comics of many types: superheroes, anime, video game characters, and Star Wars and Star Trek. My son -- a devoted Hellboy and Watchmen fan -- was happy to find comics he wanted in this genre. There are also a few graphic novels, and novelty items like drinking glasses, buttons, and action figures.

The owner, James Nurss, is a former manager at Graham Cracker Comics. When I asked him by e-mail what motivated him to open the store, he replied, "Since 1980 I have wondered where the comic shop is in Hyde Park. I love the record and used book shops -- particularly Dr. Wax's, and the maze of rooms at Powell's. A comic shop seemed long overdue, and probably a nice fit for the neighborhood." He has hopes of building enough business to move to a storefront someday.

When you see Nurss in action, he's obviously devoted to the shop. He's friendly and service-oriented. He's eager to order anything you might want that you don't already see.

Check it out.

First Aid Comics
1459 East 53rd Street (west of Harper)
2nd floor (ring buzzer)
772-75-COMIC

Hours:
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 11 AM - 7 PM
Wednesday: 11 AM - 8 PM
Sunday: 12 - 5 PM
Closed Monday

Eric's loot. (But the Susan Storm and Batman buttons are mine.)

Zaleski and Horvath Market Cafe

posted by Elizabeth Fama

It's not every day that bright, young, enterprising people open a totally hip, yet essentially retro, business in Hyde Park/Kenwood. But by some miracle it has happened, and on 47th Street no less, at the Z&H Market Cafe (named for the owners' grandparents). How to conjure an image? Think of an old-world neighborhood grocer, with a mix of fresh and canned goods -- except add refrigeration and a high-tech espresso machine. Think of a diminutive Dean and Deluca, only 785 miles closer. Think of a scaled-down version of Chicago's Fox and Obel, but with customers who've had no cosmetic surgery. The new Z&H Market Cafe has a bit of everything you need: high-end goods, a deli, superb coffee and tea, bread that's to die for, and even a little nook where you can sit and watch the world go by while you sip hot chocolate from a bowl.

The two business partners, Tim and Sam, who man the store themselves with a frugal amount of staff, are so passionate about their new place it's both fierce and heartwarming.

"Do you want to try a cup of coffee made in our new Clover single-cup commercial-grade coffee brewer? It's a patented Vacuum-Press system, and there are only 2,400 of them in the country!"

"Well," I say, "can it be an iced coffee?"

"Sure, we'll make you a single-brew iced latte, and from now on we'll call it The Elizabeth!" (super delicious, and highly recommended).



If you live nearby, one of the neat things about Z&H is that it's not just fancy dried and canned goods: you could pop in there at the last minute to buy dinner. There's a small supply of fresh Amish chicken (breasts and whole fryers) in the back fridge, and they soon hope to have fish from a local (sustainable) fish farm. There's a limited but fresh selection of produce, lots of dried pastas, and perfect, chewy baguettes from La Briola. They even have a handful of pre-roasted Amish chickens available for purchase. If you can't make ten easy gourmet dinners from what you find in this store, I'll eat my hat.

My mom, my daughter, and I, always hungry for imported Italian foods, traded canned-tomato expertise with Tim, purchased many items including raw honey and chocolate hazelnut gelato (I know, staples, right?), and ordered a sandwich, soup, and two panini from the deli. The soup was amazing: coconut lime chicken curry, made from one of the Amish chickens that they had roasted on site. The panini ($7.50) and sandwich ($7) were good (the sliced prosciutto was like butter) but the dainty side of potato salad needed a little lift (balsamic or rice vinegar would do no harm, plus some ground pepper). We bumped into a dear friend of ours, chatted for ten minutes, as you do in a real old-fashioned neighborhood, and went home with our loot...

The owners admit they need a little time to work out the kinks. For example, it's not that easy to stock just a few heads of fresh unwilted lettuce, but they're getting the hang of that sort of inventory problem as every day goes by.

Go to Z&H Market Cafe as soon as you can. And don't forget to ask for a fresh-brewed Elizabeth!

Zaleski and Horvath Market Cafe

1126 East 47th StreetChicago IL 60615

ph: 773.538.7372

fax: 773.538.8151

daily 7 AM - 7 PM

http://www.zhmarketcafe.com/
info@shmarketcafe.com

(Two other local blog reviews of Z&H are here: http://reallyboring.net/ and http://sulali.blogspot.com/)

Ding Dong, Orisha's Dead!

Bobcat S250 Skid-Steer Loader with HB1180 Hydraulic Breaker in action.

Some residents along 55th Street near Harper Ave. were awakened at 7:26 AM on Saturday morning by the sound of heavy machinery. But this cacophony was welcome, because it heralded the long-awaited end of a neighborhood eyesore.

Straddling the border between the 4th and 5th wards, Orisha Wall was erected in 1986 by artist Muneer Bahauddeen, via funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for "Community Development Block Grant activities." Not a handsome piece to begin with, Orisha was built with unsuitable materials for the outdoors (concrete covered with glazed ceramic tiles), and quickly began to crack, chip, and crumble. Despite pleas from residents, neither alderman seemed willing or able to remove the sculpture. To read all about how Hyde Park Progress inspired Irene Sherr to doggedly seek the sculpture's removal (at a ridiculous DOT price tag of $18,600), read this post.

Ah, progress! Break out the bubbly.

Mural Progress

posted by Elizabeth Fama

At the end of July, an artist named Rahmaan "Statik" Barnes -- with several assisting artists -- painted the new mural under the 47th Street viaduct. The mural was sponsored by Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Chicago Department of Transportation, and Metra, and produced by the Chicago Public Art Group. It replaces a controversial, slightly unfinished "street art" mural that had been whited out.

The new mural has images of Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, Gwendolyn Brooks, and a bunch of ordinary Hyde Park/Kenwood residents on bikes, at the beach, and on foot. It's a consistent, high-effort product, and for that I give it props. It's still not my favorite style of art, and like many murals in Chicago it has a sort of two-dimensional "collage" aesthetic -- that is, the activities are linear, like ancient Egyptian art, and unrelated to each other -- and problems with anatomy and perspective; but it's upbeat, bright, and colorful.

There's a section that seems to pay homage to my least-favorite mural ("Under City Stone" on 55th Street), but unlike Caryl Yasko's depressing, dated work, the subjects of this 47th Street mural are reasonably happy, the worker appreciates his job, and there's a positive view of public transportation.

The question of whether painted murals are the right medium for underpasses remains, however. There are dripping stains above the image of the Metra train that are only going to get worse over time. That's not a problem if you perceive mural art to be transient, as it should be, but the Chicago Public Art Group (like many Hyde Parkers) seems to think every piece of public art is historic and worthy of preservation.

Celebrate! Orisha Wall is Coming Down.

posted by Elizabeth Fama

Thank goodness -- no, thank Irene Sherr -- the dilapidated sculpture on the 55th Street median just west of Harper Avenue is finally going to be removed.

Orisha Wall by Muneer Bahauddeen, 1986

Soon to be demolished.

There's no date set for its removal yet, but it's official. The City of Chicago Department of Transportation has sent a letter to the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce requiring its removal.

How did this happen? I'm glad you asked.

1) Irene Sherr's interest was piqued because the bloggers at Hyde Park Progress were foaming at the mouth about this sculpture, and about the fact that, since it straddles the line of the 4th and the 5th ward, neither alderman seemed willing or able to tear it down.

2) Because she's a woman of action, Irene contacted a lawyer specializing in art and artists, and dug around for documentation on the sculptures.

3) Here's what she found:

a) The City of Chicago received funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1986 for "Community Development Block Grant activities."

b) The Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce requested money for public art, and specifically for two sculptures -- the one that's coming down, and another created by Matt Freedman, that sits in Harper Court:

People Watching by Matthew Freedman, 1986.

(Interesting aside: Matt was paid less than half of what Muneer was paid. In fact, Matt was paid less than the amount it will take to remove Muneer's sculpture.)

c) As part of the 1986 grant agreement, the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce was to keep at minimum $2,300 in escrow for the maintenance of the sculptures, or for their removal if the City requested it for any reason in the future.

4) Irene spoke with Jim Poueymirou at the Chamber of Commerce and with Robert Mason, at the Southeast Chicago Commission (SECC). Everyone agreed that something needed to be done, although another source told me that the Chamber initially thought maybe the sculpture should be saved and moved to an inside location (oy vay).

5) The SECC wrote a letter to the 4th and 5th ward aldermen, who both asked the Department of Transportation to check the condition of the sculpture.

6) The DOT wrote a letter to the Chamber saying "Due to the deteriorated state of the statue, the City requests that the Chamber either repair the statue or remove it from the property and restore the site." In that letter, the DOT estimated that the cost of removing the sculpture and restoring the median (which DOT will do) will come to $18,600.

7) Out of politeness (not a legal requirement), someone notified Mr. Bahauddeen that Orisha Wall was slated to be removed. He was disappointed. Apparently he has decided the decay is part of the artistic statement.

8) The Chamber of Commerce checked its coffers, and discovered -- oops -- there's only $1,200 in the escrow account.

9) Alderman Preckwinkle and Hairston offered to pay $9,000 each from their 2008 menu money.

10) The DOT says that removal and restoration of the median should occur this spring, this fall, or at the latest, next spring.

Post Script: in taking the second photo, I noticed that Matt Freedman's bronze sculpture, which is doing far better than Orisha Wall, is nonetheless in need of maintenance, or it too will begin to fall apart.

Um, Irene,...are you up for Round Two?

Brown Paper Packages, Tied Up with Strings...

posted by Elizabeth Fama

Future Home of the Zaleski and Horvath Market Cafe, 1126 East 47th Street.

When I snapped the photo above, the brown paper in the window made me sing out, like Maria Von Trapp. Because, as a matter of fact, the Zeleski and Horvath Market Cafe probably will be stocked with a few of my favorite things. You see, the proprietors want very much to work with the community to stock a "product mix" that we -- we the customers! -- want.

So I sent them an e-mail with the following list of items that I have to leave Hyde Park to buy. I encourage you to comment on this post with your suggestions for what the Zaleski and Horvath Market should stock, too. Zig & Lou are listening, really. So dream big!

-Raw honey (there are even locally-produced brands)
-Oat flour (although I did find this at TI since I wrote to Z&H)
-Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal
-Any interesting oatmeal
-Candied ginger
-The Ginger People 'Ginger Chews'
-Dried fruits (not just raisins, apricots, and dates)
-Amaretti di Saronno cookies
-Hard sheep's-milk cheeses
-Rice pasta (Tinkyada is a good brand)
-Dark Chocolate, all sorts.

(This is for Raymond.)

Sooner Than You Think!

posted by Elizabeth Fama

I hear through the foodie grapevine that Treasure Island will be opening its new store this Wednesday. That right, this Wednesday, March 12th, 2008. In fact, all of their deli meats and cheeses are arriving Monday.

How many syllables are there in the word "saahwheeet?"


(Now I'm just showing off, with my homemade pizzas, roasted acorn squash, and spinach salad. Yeah.)

Where You Should Be: Summer Tennis at the Quadrangle Club!

posted by elizabeth fama

Ahhh. The idyllic har-tru tennis courts at the Quadrangle Club, 1155 East 57th Street.

Once in a while on this blog we like to celebrate progress, not just push for it, and the new summer tennis programs at the Quadrangle Club are something to celebrate. It won't be freezing forever, you know, so listen up:

The Quadrangle Club has been around since 1893. It has been at its current location on the corner of 57th Street and University Avenue since 1922. The grounds of the building include three, gorgeous, clay-like har-tru tennis courts.

Until now, the Quad Club has been known mainly as a faculty club for the University, even though non-University-affiliated members can join -- and it has been burdened by a slightly stodgy, jacket-and-tie sort of reputation. But all that is changing. The Quad Club is shaking the dust off its image with a little PR foray that means real progress for the neighborhood: tennis programs that are open to the public. (Other than these programs, you must be a member to use the tennis courts.)

Here's what the Quad Club is offering us this summer:

1) A children's tennis camp for ages 8 - 12*:
-Monday through Friday from 10 AM - noon
-June 16 through August 1.
-Cost: $150 per week (you must buy in increments of a week).

2) Adult clinics:
-Beginner/intermediate clinics: Saturdays from 2 PM - 4 PM, from June 21 through August 23.
-Intermediate/advanced clinics: Mondays from 6 PM - 8 PM, from June 16 through August 25.
-Cost: 4 clinics for $120 (you must buy in packages of 4 clinics).
-*Teenagers are welcome to sign up for adult clinics according to their ability level.

3) Fitness Tennis for Adults:
-A high-intensity, invigorating, aerobic workout using tennis skills and group drills. Cardio-vascular exercise (rather than instruction) is the focus of this activity.
-Every Saturday from June 21 through August 23, 4 PM - 5 PM.
-Advanced Beginner minimum.
-5-10 minute warm-up, 40-50 minute cardio workout, and a 5-10 minute cool-down.
-Cost: 4 sessions for $60 ($15 each session, but you must buy in packages of 4).

The instructor for all of these programs is Julijana Lazarevich, Assistant Tennis Coach at U-High, former UIC college player, certified PTR professional.

For more information or a sign-up form, you can e-mail me, or pick up a form at the Quadrangle Club's front desk, 1155 East 57th Street.

Play tennnis in Hyde Park this summer.

Real Goddam Progress

posted by Elizabeth Fama

Hyde Park Produce opened its doors on Wednesday, Jan. 23rd in the Kimbark Plaza -- in the space (Otto and) I like to call Mr. G's but in its most recent incarnation was actually the Co-Op Express.

The banner over the deli at the new Hyde Park Produce proclaims Welcome...to our Dream!, and a lot of love has clearly gone into this store. It's orderly, it's clean, and it's well-stocked. There are seemingly dozens of employees buzzing around like bees, and smiling ear to ear at the customers, nearly giddy with pride. It's a sight to behold.

It was difficult for me to take a photo there, because the store was quite crowded, and I didn't feel right posting a snapshot of innocent bystanders.

The store feels spacious, and it's well laid out. There is, of course, a ton of produce. But there's also a deli counter with a variety of desserts, pre-made salads, and side-dishes. There are two small refrigerated meat cases in the back of the store, with fresh chicken, fish, and beef. There are freezers with frozen vegetables, pizzas, and ice creams. There's a dairy section with organic milks, cheeses, eggs, and yogurt. There's a shelf for artisanal bread (Labriola), but it was a little sparse today. And there are about three "grocery" aisles (pastas, jams, kosher items, canned goods, imported foods, bottled water). You can get almost anything you need here (other than paper goods, toiletries, and cleaning supplies, which you can get at CVS or Walgreens.)

As with the "old" Hyde Park Produce, I saw some spottiness in the freshness department. The bok choy was dead today. There were wilted heads of lettuce. The asparagus had dried and shriveled. And before you get your hopes up about doing all of your shopping there, I thought the prices for grocery items were high. A bottle of San Pellegrino is $3.79. Bonne Maman jams are $4.99 -- more than a dollar higher than University Market. A block of Mozzarella is $5.08. A 34 oz. bottle of Colivata extra virgin olive oil is $19.99.

In fact, here are some impulse purchases I made (granted, I have expensive taste), and the total came to $45.71.

Hyde Park Produce Loot

I am looking forward to seeing if those San Marzano Italian tomatoes are as good as the delightful imported brand that I buy at Costco.

And just to whet your appetite for more progress...

This is how the Co-Op is dressed today.

Here's what Treasure Island promises us, among other things, in their Message to the Hyde Park Community: a "bountiful" salad bar; a full-service butcher (with dry-aged meats) and fish monger; "homemade" prepared foods; imported cheeses, pates, and prosciutto; artisan breads; made-to-order floral arrangements; and an extensive catering menu.

From the Hyde Park Herald we learn TI will have even more (did I hear the magic words "Belgian Chocolate case?"), including a sushi bar, a juice bar, a conventional and organic salad bar, and an ice cream bar. Who knew you do could all that with 35,000 square feet?

If it's true: deep sigh.

Treasure Island to Replace Co-Op End of February 08

posted by chicago pop

Today's announcement from Hank Webber:

I am pleased to tell you that the University has signed a lease with Treasure Island to open a grocery store in the Hyde Park Shopping Center at 55^th Street and Lake Park. Treasure Island is working intensively to obtain a number of city business licenses that are required. Although the timing of this process is somewhat uncertain, Treasure Island has set a goal of opening the new store before the end of February.

Treasure Island, a locally owned grocer (see www.tifoods.com), plans to make major renovations to both the interior and exterior of the store, while maintaining operations throughout the remodeling. It will be some months before the renovations are completed, but we believe they will be worth the wait.

Treasure Island will occupy the space formerly leased by the Hyde Park Co-op. Given the Co-op’s serious financial difficulties, the University worked closely with the Co-op Board to ensure the smoothest possible transition to a new store. The Co-op’s licensing agreement for the 55^th Street store will expire at the end of January, and the Co-op anticipates closing its operations by January 20 as its current food supplies are sold.

All of the current Hyde Park Co-op employees who are interested in working at the new store will be invited to interview for employment, beginning as early as this week. Additionally, the University has worked with Alderman Toni Preckwinkle to ensure that city and state resources, support, information and training are made available to the Co-op employees.

Beginning immediately, Treasure Island is offering on-line shopping and delivery service to the Hyde Park community. For information, visit www.tifoods.com and click on the “personal shopper” link. Treasure Island has also agreed to immediately take over the Co-op’s shopping and delivery program to the area shut-ins, ensuring continuous service to those who cannot do their own shopping.

In addition to the news about Treasure Island, we are looking forward to the opening by the end of January of the new Hyde Park Produce in Kimbark Plaza at 1226 E. 53^rd Street. The new store will be more than three times larger than the current store at 1312 E. 53^rd Street, providing a significantly larger selection of produce, meats, cheeses, and other foods.

Since we are in a period of transition, we want to remind you of other Hyde Park grocery shopping locations near the University, including:

• Harper Foods, 1455 E. 57^th Street, 773-363-6251

University Market, 1323 E. 57^th Street, 773-363-0070

Village Foods, 1521 E. Hyde Park Blvd. (Village Center), 773-288-8180

Market in the Park (Regents Park), 5050 S. Lake Shore Drive, 773-734-3687
A detailed map with shopping alternatives can be found on the web at http://oca.uchicago.edu/ More information about shopping options is available through the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce at contact@hydeparkchamberchicago.org or 773-288-0124.

Sincerely,

Henry S. Webber
Vice President, Community and Government Affairs

Oh Yeah.

posted by chicago pop

The membership vote to determine the future of the Hyde Park Co-Operative Society, which runs Hyde Park's only supermarket, has been decided.

A majority of voters chose Option A, to close the Co-Op and allow a buyout from the University of Chicago, over Option B, to pursue bankruptcy or a commercial loan.

The Co-Op will therefore cease to exist as a business entity sometime in the very near future.

Here's the tally:

Option A: 3200
Option B: 2049

To put this in perspective: in 1964, Lyndon Baines Johnson won the presidential election by the greatest margin in US history: 61 - 38 % of the popular vote.

In politics, this election is the definition of a landslide.

And those number are almost exactly the margin of victory for Option A over Option B:
60- 39 %.

So, if you're looking for some way to celebrate the coming New Year, you can either drop by the upcoming funeral dirge on 55th next Monday, and check in with all the long-march dead-enders, or you can run into the streets of this studious and scholastic little neighborhood, throw a rutabega into the air, and kiss the next dude or dame that comes your way, like this:

C'est toi que j'aime, non pas Le Co-Op...