Chicagoist: U of C Acts Quick, Turns Food Desert Into Oasis

Spook

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:25:03 -0600

KrisXI I think I remember reading about that! Front page of the Hyde Park Herald. All of Hyde Park turned out for the elaborate funeral for that squirrel, ending with a at Lake Mich. burial off The Point were every body then joined hands and sang "Kumbaya" as the sun set in the back round. I'm Sorry I missed it.

KristinaXI

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:51:10 -0600

I remember when a squirrel chewed through some sort of electrical lines so that their scanners were all down and you had to go around and write the prices of everything on a little piece of paper, which they then keyed into...calculaters? Something horrible and slow like that. It was like that for months. Talk about a damn food desert. So yes, anything, even Treasure Island, is an improvement over that crap.

Spook

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:08:53 -0600

p.s. We in Logan Square have been trying to get a grocery store since Hector was a pup!

Spook

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:55:02 -0600

U of C, King of of the Hyde Park Kingdom!

youattal

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:30:30 -0600

It would be hard to do much worse than the Co-Op. I lived in HP last year while at the U of C and the grocery store was a serious disappointment in moving there. It was cramped, disorganized, and service was bad--and not for cheap. Don't forget about the MONTH when the scanners were down and every single item had to be coded in at the checkouts. Somehow I doubt that level of service will be tolerated by a national chain. Kudos to U of C for getting a new, better store lined up quickly.

snowshovel

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:24:42 -0600

Honestly, I don't know if Hyde Parkers are going to be any happier with Treasure Island than they were with the Co-op. At least the main complaint about the Co-op, that it's too expensive, certainly won't be put to rest—Treasure Island ain't cheap. It is nice that they went for a store that will carry a lot of ethnic/international foods, as the Co-op did, which was really its best feature. I assume that's what they mean by "suitability for the community."

haelig

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:46:03 -0600

The U of C was arranging the Treasure Island deal before the Co-op members voted and they actually announced it as one of the voting options: Members could vote for the Co-op to file bankruptcy or for the Co-op to be bought out. And if they voted for the latter, the university said they were lining up a new grocer that could replace the Co-op right away. The Co-op was really on its last legs and everything was pointing to a buy-out. So I'm glad that the deal happened so quickly and that Hyde Park is finally getting reasonable food shopping options.