Potential Whole Foods Suppliers Flock To Englewood Workshop
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago area entrepreneurs filled an auditorium at Kennedy-King College on Friday, hoping Whole Foods would pick their products to fill the shelves of a store scheduled to open in Englewood at the end of the year.
Love Cork Screw wine company owner Chrishon Lampley was one of dozens of small business owners hoping to be picked as vendors for the new Englewood grocery store.
She described her company as a "wine lifestyle brand."
"We're in, actually, 50 locations, but we're very excited to get into Whole Foods, hopefully after today," she said.
Lampley distinguished her wines by names, as well as taste.
"Touch The Sky is one of the names. We have In Too Deep. We have Hard Knock Life, Head Over Heels," she said.
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Lampley was one of dozens of entrepreneurs who attended a supplier workshop Friday, to learn how to best present their products so Whole Foods would select them for regular display.
Sweet Spot by C. founder Candice Black said she hopes to get her distinctive cheesecakes on the shelves at Whole Foods.
"You'll probably see a little bit more fresh fruit and designs; different chocolate technique," she said. "I'm hoping that, from what I've seen when I visit Whole Foods that no one's product quite looks like mine, so I'm hoping that the artistry behind it will help push the product a little bit more."
Whole Foods is opening an 18,000-square-foot store at 63rd and Halsted streets at the end of the year. Though known for its upscale products – and nicknamed "Whole Paycheck" for its high prices – the chain has pledged to keep the Englewood store affordable.
The only other full-sized grocery store in Englewood is an Aldi, leaving residents with a dearth of options for fresh produce, so residents largely have been eager to see the new store open in one of Chicago's so-called "food deserts."
The design of the workshop was to advise potential vendors and pick 25 suppliers for the new Englewood store.
