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French flair hits Chicago train station |
10.09.2009
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By Anna Wolfe
CHICAGO-Phase one of a multi-million dollar overhaul of one of the city's train stations-including a European-style market-is scheduled to open in November.
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Located in the West Loop, MetraMarket is a 100,000-square-foot retail development-and phase one includes 60,000 square feet featuring six restaurants, a drug store, ample parking and the anchor tenant-the Chicago French Market.
Inside the two-block development near Clinton and Lake Streets is the 15,000-square-foot Chicago French Market that will be home to 25 vendors and retailers selling produce, meats, fish, baked goods, cheese, coffee, wine and confections. French Market will be accessible from both the commuter concourse and Clinton Street and will feature a dine-in area for customers to enjoy prepared food items on the premises.
Sebastien Bensidoun, executive vice president of Bensidoun Investment LLC and fourth-generation Bensidoun market expert, is overseeing the project. Bensidoun, who has been in Chicago for 12 years, has seen what he calls the "evolution" of consumers' interest in their food-from how it was grown or made to how to prepare it.
This is the first indoor Chicago French Market here. To date, the Bensidoun family, known for its markets in Paris and beyond, manages 11 weekly outdoor markets throughout the Chicagoland area during the summer.
With the Chicago French Market at the MetraMarket, Bensidoun wants to appeal to all consumers not just the gourmet shoppers. "We're not looking to attract just the high class people. We want everybody to come and shop affordably. This is not a luxury gourmet market," he said. For example, the market may include as many as three produce retailers-two that sell conventional produce and one that sells organic-"to give people a choice" in selection and price.
Vendors include local favorites such as Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine-which signed on to open its third store here, Wisconsin Cheese Mart, Vanille Patisserie, Canady Le Chocolatier, Chicago Organics, nut roaster Completely Nuts and Sweet Miss Givings, a baked goods shop that donates half of its proceeds to charity. Italian coffee brand Lavazza will open one of its Expressions cafes.
Even with a storefront less than a mile away, Pastoral was keen on a third store. Greg O'Neill, who co-owns Pastoral with Ken Miller, said the MetraMarket's traffic is impressive-110,000 commuters pass through the station daily. The Chicago French Market, O'Neill said, will be similar to the San Francisco's Ferry Building and a Parisian market. "This will be true market shopping like Chicago has never had before," he said. About 500,000 people work within a half-mile radius, according to a brochure promoting the retail development.
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