South Oak Park's Newest Food Stops Each Filled a Long-Standing Gap

Stephanie Townsend got in line outside the new Pete's Fresh Market at about 7:40 on the morning of Aug. 19, more than an hour before the 9 a.m. opening. "We waited 10 years, we can wait 10 more minutes," she told the Wednesday Journal as the doors were about to open.

That line works for more than one storefront. Between Aug. 19 and Sept. 15, three food businesses opened in the southern half of Oak Park, one each on Madison Street, in the Southtown district along South Oak Park Avenue, and in the Arts District on Harrison. None of them filled a new space. Each took over a spot where something had been missing for a long time. One was a grocery lot that had been in development since 2018. One was a corner where a neighbor said there was simply no chocolate. One was a cafe space that had lost two tenants in two years. If you live south of the Eisenhower, your errands and coffee stops look different than they did in July, and each change came at the end of a long wait.

Madison Street: the lot that finally became a store

The new Pete's sits at Oak Park Avenue and Madison Street, on the parcel at 640–728 Madison St. The Wednesday Journal reported that the grocery project there had been in development since 2018. That was three years after the family-owned chain opened its first Oak Park store in a former Dominick's on Lake Street.

Here's the timeline as local coverage tracked it:

1. 2015. The first Pete's in Oak Park opens on Lake Street.
2. 2018. Development starts on the Madison Street grocery site.
3. 2021. Construction begins.
4. 2021 to 2026. Delays follow. Coverage tied them to the pandemic, utility work, supply-chain problems and the loss of the site's original architect, and the redevelopment agreement with the village was amended six times.
5. Aug. 19, 2026. Opening day, with a line around the block.

What's inside is more than a basic grocery run. The Wednesday Journal's opening-day story described a bakery with specialty house-made treats, a popcorn station where the specialty popcorn is made in-store, butcher counters and a fresh juice bar. Vanessa Dremonas, an executive officer and the daughter of founder James Dremonas, told the paper the company aims to "get it right about 90%, and then the other 10% is for the customers to tell us what they want." She added that the company is "very open to hearing feedback from customers," so if something you want isn't on the shelves, it's worth asking.

Oak Park's other Pete's is on Lake Street. With this one open, the south side has its own full-size grocery at the Oak Park Avenue and Madison intersection.

Southtown: a shop for something the block didn't have

On South Oak Park Avenue, a neighbor put the gap into words. At the Sept. 5 open house for Chocolat by Christina, a neighbor named Rejeta Saunders told the Wednesday Journal, "In the Southtown District. We don't have chocolate."

Now it does, at 902 S. Oak Park Ave. Owner Christina Nixon took up chocolate making through classes at Triton College, sold at farmers markets and craft fairs, and then studied in Belgium, Italy and France. Some neighbors already knew her work before she had a storefront. One father told the paper his family had bought her chocolates at an Irving School craft fair.

The shop is built around classes as much as sales. Nixon described a series that builds in steps:

• Intro to chocolate. The basics of tempering.
• Bonbons and ganache. The next levels up.
• Cocoa butter painting. The most advanced class, using decorated chocolate molds.

She said classes would cap at 10 students and that she would also host children's parties for up to 10 guests. She told the paper there are "no fancy machines" in the shop, so students can repeat everything at home with a thermometer and a double boiler or a microwave. In early September she said classes would start within a month, so check with the shop for the current schedule before planning a birthday or a night out around one. The display case has items like white chocolate yuzu bonbons with pistachios and an assortment of barks. You can also ship boxes to people out of town, which is useful with the holidays coming.

The Arts District: a cafe corner on its third try

Filling the third gap took the most deliberate effort. The storefront at 905 S. Lombard Ave. housed Buzz Cafe for nearly three decades until it closed in 2023. A Kribi Coffee location followed, then pulled out in fall 2025, the Wednesday Journal reported.

According to the paper, a group that included a longtime Arts District landlord bought the property back and went looking for a cafe in the spirit of Buzz. Within a week of the first email in January, they had met with Blackberry Market founder Anna Davidson, and Blackberry signed a lease in February. Davidson started Blackberry in downtown Glen Ellyn in 2012. Oak Park is her fifth location, after Glen Ellyn, La Grange, Naperville and Oak Brook. "I also loved the space that was available and the history of it being a cafe for so long," she told the paper.

The Village of Oak Park's manager's report marked the grand opening on Tuesday, Sept. 15, with free drip coffee and mini bakery treats. The coffee comes from Intelligentsia, Blackberry's wholesale partner. Day-to-day, the cafe is run by general manager Wilson Loibner, Davidson's nephew, who has six years with the company. Loibner told the paper the menu includes nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan options, plus takeout, catering and bakery items. Out back, the patio has a custom mural of blackberries and bees, a small tribute to the Buzz years.

Three gaps, side by side

The three stops sit within walking distance of each other. In practice, that's a full loop on foot: groceries at Madison, coffee on Lombard, a box of bonbons on South Oak Park Avenue on the way home. A few months ago, the middle stop wasn't open and the first one was still behind construction fencing.

Two dates still ahead on the south side calendar

The first big neighborhood day for the new stops is Halloween. The Village of Oak Park has set trick-or-treat hours for Saturday, Oct. 31, from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the afternoon is wide open for a coffee and pastry run on Lombard before the costumes go on.

Then Harrison Street has its next big day. The Oak Park Arts District's Saturday with Santa is Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The schedule includes:

• Pictures with Santa and a toy drive
• Letters to Santa and a craft table
• A candy cane walk and face painting
• Local art vendors and food and drink specials
• The Toddlin' Around Town scavenger hunt along Harrison

It will be Blackberry Market's first Saturday with Santa at the corner of Lombard and Harrison. Blackberry's own website and social media are the place to check for any holiday hours or specials it announces. It's also a short walk from Harrison over to South Oak Park Avenue, and a box of handmade chocolates from Chocolat by Christina makes an easy holiday gift.

Whether you've made all three stops already or you're saving one for a cold November morning, we love trading notes on what's new south of the Eisenhower. If you're thinking about what these openings mean for your own block, Cynthia Gajewski and Team Cynthia are always happy to talk it through over coffee. Let's Find Your Perfect Home Together.