Sugar Beet Co-op Plans 10th Anniversary Celebration on July 31

Bob Benenson
Jul 23
2 min read

Grocery Store in Suburban Oak Park Set Pace for Current Wave of Co-ops

Time does fly. It doesn't feel like 10 years gone since I attended the opening of the Sugar Beet Co-op in the near western Chicago suburb of Oak Park on July 30, 2015. I was reminded of this when I saw their Facebook post announcing their 10th Anniversary Party, which will take place on Thursday, July 31 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The event will take place in the community room of the apartment building at 442 S. Grove Ave., just a few doors down from the co-op (located at 812 Madison St.).

According to the organizers, here's what to expect:

- A sampling of food from local restaurants

- Beer, wine, and cocktails

- Multiple prizes raffled off

- Festivities celebrating The Beet's 10 great years and our bright future

- Vendors sampling products in the store

All are welcome to attend, whether you are a co-op owner, a prospective owner, or a frequent shopper.

Even after 10 years, the co-op's continuous search for new owners continues. [Co-op owners buy shares in their store, which provide them with discounts, other benefits and a say in how the store is run.]

Beginning on the July 31 celebration day and running through August 3, Sugar Beet is running an owner drive. The store's details:

1) 10% OFF for Owners All 4 Days

2) Become an Owner by Purchasing your Ownership Share & get:

- $25 gift card

- Free logo tote

- 10% OFF the rest of the weekend (As a NEW CO-OP OWNER!)

- Owner Benefits for life

Sugar Beet Food Co-op's Standard Ownership is a one-time investment of $250 that helps us continue to offer high-quality, natural, and organic products, supporting smaller producers and the local economy. The Standard Ownership can be paid in $50 installments.

Local Food Forum has written often about how challenging it is to finance and build out a food co-op, despite these stores' virtues of supporting sustainable/local food production and community ownership. The three co-ops that have opened in the Chicago region since May 2024 — Food Shed in Woodstock, Wild Onion Market in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, and Prairie Food Co-op in Lombard — all took more than 10 years to come to fruition.

So Sugar Beet's 10th anniversary of their grand opening is worth celebrating.

The following are photos from the grand opening on July 30, 2015: