ANDERSONVILLE — Urban Orchard, a boutique grocer in the heart of Andersonville, will be closing at the end of January.
"We recognize the amount of time and effort that we would have to put into the store to get it where we wanted it to be," said owner Ray Pesavento, who runs the small grocer at 5212 N. Clark St. with his wife, Marsha, and also owns the building. "And we realized we couldn't do it without sacrificing our commitment to Artisanal."
The couple also owns Artisanal in suburban Wilmette, a specialty grocery store with a similar mission, and retail market Andersonville Galleria, at 5247 N. Clark St.
He said they simply can't run both grocery stores the way they would like, so they've chosen to focus on running the Wilmette grocer, which is two minutes away from their home.
"We certainly appreciate all of the loyalty that customers have shown," he said.
Since business partners James Machniak and Eric Mazzone opened the grocer and cafe in 2011, Urban Orchard has offered fresh produce and other locally sourced food items often found at the Andersonville Farmers Market. Many of its items also come from farmers and food artisans from neighboring states.
Shortly after Machniak died, Mazzone put in a call to Pesavento, who has owned the building since the early '90s, for help. Pesavento agreed to take over the business in June 2013.
Pesavento said while he can't say who the next tenant will be yet, he would like a local, food-related business to take over. He said the neighborhood has enough restaurants.
He also said that despite rumors, he "has had no direct communication with Chipotle."
The rumors may have stemmed from the fact that he discussed the property with a broker who, in passing, mentioned that Chipotle and the DMK Group were interested in Andersonville, he said. But he said nothing has been discussed beyond that.
Candice Allen-Sipperley, 34, said the closure of the grocery store will be a loss for the neighborhood. She likes to know where her food is coming from, she said, and has grown accustomed to buying eggs, bacon and other items at the grocer several times a week.
Allen-Sipperley, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years, called Andersonville "a town within a city" and said she'd like to see a local business similar to Urban Orchard move in.
She added that she'd be "even more disappointed" if a corporate chain like Chipotle were to move in, saying it would take away from the charm of the neighborhood.
Another longtime Andersonville resident and frequent shopper, Ashley Furrow, 39, said she also was disappointed to hear of the grocer's closure.
She said she wished that the owners had been more forthcoming with the information, as she often tutors students in the cafe area.
"I would've shown up and the doors would've been locked," Furrow said.
Still, she hopes that another small business will move in rather than a corporate chain.
Urban Orchard "carried so many great vendors," she said. "Items that were sold at the farmers market, you could get them at [Urban Orchard] in the offseason."
Others, like Kimberly Vukovich, 27, who manages the clothing boutique Presence next door at 5216 N. Clark St., said she'd welcome a Chipotle, or any other restaurant where she could grab a quick lunch.
Similarly, her co-worker, Carol Dahvers, 21, said she's hoping more affordable food options come to the neighborhood.
Andersonville is getting its own Giordano's restaurant, now under construction across the street from the grocer, at 5207 N. Clark St. It replaced Ann Sather, a Swedish-inspired breakfast chain owned by Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) that closed in late December 2013.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
