In a warmly lit gymnasium on 5917 N. Broadway, rows of tables overflowed with fresh produce, baked goods and handmade stuffed animals. Trading in the sun and style of Chicago’s summer farmers market scene for coats and scarves, the Edgewater Indoor Market is a place for Chicagoans to shop, sample and support local businesses in the winter.
The market — and its array of bright flowers, stacks of croissants and variety of fudge and tea samples — hosted its second event of the year Jan. 31 as temperatures outside remained below freezing.
Executive Director of the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce Garrett Karp said the chamber began the market last year as a modest program with about 25 vendors to cultivate small businesses. It has since grown to include around 75 vendors per event, with five total markets spanning across select Saturdays this year.
While handing out Edgewater baseball caps to visitors, Karp said it’s part of his job to uplift the community.
“There’s a lot of demand for programming and events in the winter, especially in Edgewater, where there’s not a lot going on,” Karp said. “Markets and street festivals like this are also often like incubators for small local businesses.”
One owner of a participating local business, Claudia Allen of plant shop Pot O’ Greens, said she started partaking in the market this year. Her reason for joining runs deeper than just being invited by Operations and Farmers Market Manager Naketa Washington — it’s a way for her to share her plants.
“Plants bring us so much joy and a little bit of peace into your life,” Allen said. “It’s something that I needed, and I just started collecting, and then I felt like I wanted to share it with other people.”
Across the room from Allen’s booth, customers gathered around more tables filled with fresh greenery, checking out the bok choy, lettuce and mushrooms from Loyola’s Urban Agriculture program.
Third-year Lauren Casper, who is on her second semester with the market through Urban Agriculture, said the program maintains their produce through the winter months with tents for mushroom production, a hydroponics tower for growing lettuce and more.
“The space here is so friendly, and all of the food is just so fresh,” Casper said. “There’s just such a fun atmosphere.”
Sitting at the edge of the gym watching shoppers and vendors stroll through the room, customers Katie Rose Brosnan and Rose Graner said they had gone to the outdoor markets put on in Chicago but had never been to an indoor one. After seeing a poster, they decided to check it out.
“We had been so cooped up inside,” Brosnan said. “So this was like, let’s go someplace where we can walk around and buy things and support local vendors, but also not be in our house.”
Graner added how it was fun to see a handful of people dressed up for the market as an indication of “how desperate you get in winter to do anything.”
Customers weaved through the bright clay jewelry at Emaloe’s Thingys, colorful handmade stuffed animals at HookedByAmyCreations and salsas at Rivera’s Mexican Foods in what Graner called their “best winter wear.”
As for the vendors, Jennifer Vyenielo of Emaloe’s Thingys said, as she adjusted a row of intricate jewelry hanging from her booth, her favorite part of the market is getting to know people in the community and supporting the neighborhood.
Amy Hamilton, owner of HookedByAmyCreations and a full-time teacher, said the market and Chamber of Commerce offer “human connection” for the crocheting she’s been doing for years. For Hamilton, crocheting has become a sort of therapy, and she said she appreciates the way the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce has treated her as a person and as a vendor.
Handing out samples of salsa made from her grandmother’s recipe — one gifted to her as a wedding present — to bundled-up customers, Elia Rivera from Rivera’s Mexican Foods said she was loving her first time at the market and hopes to become a regular.
Karp said he also hopes the market becomes a regular occurrence in the years to come.
“When you hear about a lot of the other big summer farmer’s markets like Green City or Logan Square, you know, everybody had to start somewhere,” Karp said. “We would love to grow the Edgewater Indoor Market into something as big as those markets or maybe even more popular.”
The Edgewater Indoor Market will pick back up on Feb. 14, Feb. 28. and March 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Entrance is free and open to the public.
