CEGU

From the 1910s to the 1970s, the intersection of Halsted and 63rd in the Englewood neighborhood was the center of a rich and busy commercial block. Throughout the decades, many businesses opened, operated, closed, and were quickly replaced.Starting in the 1910s, The Englewood Business Men’s Association held together the different businesses and the community; many of the stores on the block, including New China Restaurant or Bruck Bowling Alleys, were beloved by Englewood residents and served as  important community centers. However, shifts in population demographics soon changed the Englewood neighborhood. In the 1950s, many displaced African Americans migrated into Englewood, amplifying racial conflicts and leading to the large-scale migration of Irish, Swedish, and German residents into the suburbs. As a result, Englewood’s population decreased, leading to declining economic activity. In the early 1970s, many large businesses considered anchors of the Englewood neighborhood, such as Sears and Wieboldt’s, closed their doors. In the following decades, the commercial life in Englewood significantly died down: only smaller stores remained open and tensions between the businesses and community remained high. By the 1990s, the Englewood neighborhood had lost 20,000 people in total population.Of its remaining residents, 43% lived below the poverty rate and 26% were unemployed.

The various socioeconomic difficulties in the Englewood neighborhood and the broader South Side of Chicago drew the attention of policymakers and officials on the national and local level. In the 2010s, mayor Rahm Emanuel, alongside other officials from the City of Chicago decided that reviving the former commercial center would be their strategy to improve economic activity and overall quality of life in the Englewood neighborhood. Reflecting these ambitions, the City of Chicago classed the plot of land at 63rd and Halsted as a Planned Development Plot to “ensure adequate public review, encourage unified planning and development, [and] promote economically beneficial development patterns that are compatible with the character of existing neighborhoods.”¹ In 2015, the City of Chicago moved forward with their plans, and approved the proposal for a new shopping mall: Englewood Square.

In 2013, Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb announced plans to open a Whole Foods to serve as the anchor for the Englewood Square shopping mall. Whole Foods Market is a high-end grocery chain that aims to bring fresh and healthy foods and goods to its consumers. Due to its business model and price, Whole Foods primarily targets upper-class to upper-middle-class neighborhoods. As a result, the decision to open a location in Englewood came as a surprise. Robb claims that the company’s goal has always been to “bring healthier foods to the world”, and that the decision to open a location in Englewood supports this mission. Whole Foods had also recently opened a location in Detroit with a similar goal to bring healthier food products to a typically underserved area. The Detroit Whole Foods location has been a huge success; the location has exceeded expectations and remains open to this day. Therefore, some viewed the decision to open a Whole Foods location in Englewood as an expansion of the success seen in Detroit.

The decision to bring a Whole Foods location into Englewood also reflects a larger nationwide concern  with addressing Food Deserts, defined by Food Empowerment Project as “geographic areas where residents’ access to affordable, healthy food options (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) is restricted or nonexistent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance”². In Chicago, many neighborhoods lack access to healthy food; more than 500,000 residents live in food deserts and an additional 400,000 residents live in areas with only access to fast food rather than groceries.A majority of these residents located in food deserts are African American. In River North, where 70% of  residents are white, everyone lives within half a mile of a grocery store. In comparison, in Englewood, where 85% of residents are African American, more than 99% of residents have low access to grocery stores and other healthy diet sources. The opening of a Whole Foods location in Englewood signified a move toward addressing the racial disparities in the access to healthy foods. In addition to food access, the City of Chicago also hoped to engage residents with the store by creating at least 100 new job openings. 

Whole Foods only served the Englewood community for 6 years before closing its doors in 2022. Officials announced that the Whole Foods location in Englewood would be one of six locations closing nationwide in April 2022. Most Englewood residents were unaware that the store would close until a few days before. Many took the closure as a sign that the city had given up on the community. The closure was primarily due to the dwindling revenue and amount of shoppers; originally, residents felt that despite the high prices, the goods that Whole Foods sold were worth the money. However, over the years, they began to feel that the high prices had become increasingly unaffordable. As a result, Whole Foods became a store that the community could no longer afford to shop at.

In comparison, the Detroit Whole Foods location remains open.  Its success is largely credited towards the coordination between Whole Foods and the City of Detroit to address the direct needs of the community. The Detroit Whole Foods location has worked to make its products more accessible to its neighborhood by placing a “greater emphasis on the company’s private-label 365 brand, learner staffing than at most Whole Foods outlets, and more frozen and pre-wrapped food”. While the Detroit Whole Foods is a success story, the failure to replicate its success in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood speaks to the difference between the company’s mission and its pilot initiative to serve lower income neighborhoods. One of Whole Foods core values clarifies their profit-seeking mission:“We know that profits are essential to create capital for growth, job security, and overall financial success”. Therefore, while Whole Foods is open to exploring serving its community, they are transparent that they are a for-profit company.

Today at the intersection of Halsted and 63rd Street there are still two nearby grocery stores: ALDI and WIC Groceries. Both these grocery options differ from Whole Foods, as their core mission is to provide affordable groceries to the community. Stated in their mission, ALDI is a grocery chain prioritizing “saving people money on the foods and products they want most.” On the other hand, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Groceries Centers is a chain of 14 locations started by Catholic Charities in 1993 that aim to provide adequate and nutritious food to underserved communities in Chicagoland. In 2020, all WIC Groceries Centers began to accept Illinois WIC EBT coupons, ensuring easier access to healthy foods for low income residents. Beyond groceries, WIC Groceries Centers also provides various other public health services and health screenings to further support children and families in Chicago. In addition to grocery stores, many of Englewood Squares’s other businesses are affordable restaurant chains such as Chipotle, Wingstop, and Starbucks. Although Englewood is not considered a Food Desert, the difference in the foods available to South Side Chicago residents compared to Chicago neighborhoods on the North Side is notable and reflects an inequality to access to healthy foods. The unsuccessful story of Whole Foods in the Englewood neighborhood and the alternative food providers that currently serve the neighborhood shines a light on the disconnect between investments made into the community and the community’s needs.