Conscious Choice: The Jolly Green Grocer

April 2008 | Conscious Dining

The Jolly Green Grocer

By Tanya Fritz

Cassie Green and Gary Stephens have recently opened a small cheery store called Green Grocer in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. It’s a quaint spot, with an array of local and artisan producers, but it’s got a really interesting twist: Green Grocer is a great venue for a spiritual pick-me-up. The walls are brightly colored, the food is healthy and one of the best attributes is that Green stands at the door welcoming everyone with a smile, a warm greeting and an uplifting brightness in her eyes. I was in the store for nearly an hour and not a person walked in or out without being greeted by Green.

Green made a career out of selling jewelry for a large corporation and grew tired of traveling and not having a daily passion fulfilled through her work. She had always believed in nourishing her body well, but noticed herself growing more and more aware of how she bought her food. She wanted to find a way to feed her own need for sustainable, local produce while also educating those around her about how to eat locally. As her vision to patronize a neighborhood spot grew, she began to realize that if a store like that was something she wanted to frequent, she needed to create it herself. Within six months, she’d consulted local foodies, located a spot, engaged nearby farmers and purveyors and began to build her business from scratch.

The store offers vendors such as Trader’s Point Creamery in Indiana. Cassie tells me that Trader’s Point manages a ‘voluntary milking’ dairy farm which means that if the cows feel like milking that day, the farm has milk to sell, if the cows aren’t ready, the farmers never make them do so. A radical practice these days.

Green Grocer also sells River Valley Kitchens sauces, Metropolis coffee, Papa Lena’s beet and squash chips, Bruno’s organics, and Tomato Mountain Farms organic Bloody Mary mix (and tomato sauces and soups). Green talks about these vendors like they’re family members, and beams with pride to be associated with such hard working good-hearted farmers. “I don’t have a favorite vendor!” she responds when I ask her for the inside scoop on all the labels, “they are all incredible people!”

She feels it’s mandatory to make the personal acquaintance of all of her vendors in order to know that they are producing quality products. “I don’t eat meat, but I visit each of the farms I buy goods from and I even try the meat. I love animals, and so I have to be absolutely sure the farm treats their livestock and poultry with love and respect,” she tells me. She also calls each of the farms she is considering stocking and if they hesitate to have her visit, she doesn’t work with them. She says, “I need to know they are proud of their operation and would welcome anyone who wants to check it out.”

She says she’s already been approached for franchises, after only six weeks of operation. West Town is lucky she decided to open there; Green Grocer is something every street corner in town could use.

Green Grocer, 1402 W. Grand Ave., Chicago; 312-624-9508, greengrocerchicago.com. Monday-Friday 10am-8pm (closes at 5pm first Tuesday of each month); Saturday 10am-6pm; Sunday 10am-5pm.

Tanya Fritz is a professionally trained chef, oenophile, slow-food fanatic and yoga enthusiast.

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