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Best of #1: Best Delivery Entrepreneurs 

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By Kristin Boza 

Small business owners have been getting really creative lately. A new brand of small business has taken Beverly/Morgan Park by storm: small batch food and cocktail delivery. These home cooks, chefs, and mixologists featured in our first “Best of” series are some of the coolest new delivery entrepreneurs in our community. Be prepared to break all of your New Year’s resolutions with some good eats and tasty cocktails. 

Steering Cocktails: Handcrafted, Unique Drinks 

Lizzy Benner, owner of Steering Cocktails, is well-known for her creative cocktail work at local bars, restaurants and events. She started cocktailing for home Christmas parties in 2018 as a side job to her regular bartending. Like many in the service industry, Benner lost her event coordinator job when Covid hit. Luckily, she was able to focus on Steering Cocktails with cocktail-making demos and home delivery.  

“I realized this is the perfect time for Steering Cocktails because everyone’s stuck at home,” Benner said. “I started creating cocktails, made with my homemade signature liqueurs, and delivering them to people’s homes.” 

The premise of Steering Cocktails is to provide everything a host needs for the most fabulous cocktail party ever. Small batch, handcrafted cocktails are her specialty, and she was a staple at the socially distanced events held at Edna White Garden this summer. Benner has two beds at the garden dedicated to growing herbs for her cocktails.  

“The Edna White events brought so much awareness to the garden and all that we do. We were able to bring the community together and do socially distanced parties with live music, which also put musicians to work during this tough time,” Benner said.  

Benner offers Zoom demos on building the best of her signature cocktails, complete with a cocktail kit for $45, making it the perfect stay-at-home date night. Since she makes all of her own liqueurs for the drink concoctions, her cocktails are the absolute most exclusive drink in town. 

“Are You Ready for a Brand-New Beat” is one of Benner’s favorite signature cocktails; it’s a take on a Summer Old Fashioned and includes bourbon, homemade honey/Meyer lemon liqueur, homemade pink peppercorn, Meyer lemon gin bitters, topped with a garnish of pink peppercorn and Meyer lemon peel. Her other favorite is “Peace Without Illusions” consisting of gin, mandarins and lemon sage, homemade rose hip and Bergamot liqueur topped with prosecco.  

Coming up next: Benner hopes to take the show on the road, literally, by outfitting a cocktail truck to cruise to neighborhood parties in style. Find out more, book a virtual cocktail demo, staff an event, or order a batch of craft cocktails by visiting Steering Cocktails on Facebook and Instagram. 

The Soup Nancy: Yes, Soup for You! 
Nancy McGourty launched The Soup Nancy in October, her business name a play on the iconic Soup Nazi character on “Seinfeld.” For the last six years, McGourty dabbled with the idea of selling her fresh, homemade soups and finally took the leap to satisfy soup lovers around the neighborhood. She partnered with another neighborhood resident, Donna Somerville of Somerville Design, to create her adorable logo — a strong woman based on Rosie the Riveter holding a soup ladle.  

“Since we’re all huddled up in our homes, we may as well have something cozy to eat!” McGourty said. “While I consider myself an overall very good cook, I have a particular affinity for soup making; I even recall my now grown son saying ‘Mom, can we please have something that I can eat with a fork?’ I believe soup is good food and we should all drink it in.” 

Each one of McGourty’s soups is made from scratch. She tackles her weekly soup making process in stages. “One day I shop, another day I make the stock, and on Fridays I prep by chopping vegetables. Saturdays are for assembling and cooking the soup and delivery or pick-up is Sunday or Monday.” She makes her own stock fresh without the added boxed broths and never freezes the soup — it’s always delivered fresh. She makes approximately 45 quarts each week – that’s 400 quarts sold since October.  

Two unique soups are created each week based on her cooking mood. The options are noted on her website and social media pages every Sunday night; orders are due by 5 p.m. each Wednesday and the cost is $10 per quart with a delivery fee of $2.50. “I’ve been sold out most weeks, so it’s best to get orders in early,” she said. “The community response has been great, and I already have several regular customers. I’m always open to suggestions and will consider them all.” 

Her favorite soups are those with “velvety” textures, like butternut squash, but she also makes a killer toasted garlic broth-based soup. “I’m just trying to offer a good variety. I offer everything from vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free soups to those with full fat and lots of butter and cream,” McGourty said.  

Place an order at The-Soup-Nancy.com, and follow The Soup Nancy on Facebook and Instagram to find out each week’s soup delicacies.  

Fancypants Boards: Bountiful Flavors on One Charcuterie Board 

A “million” combinations of flavors in one space, Samantha Rossi’s charcuterie boards are delightfully delicious. Rossi, a classically trained chef, launched Fancypants Boards in October, delivering morsels of goodness and handcrafted accoutrements to neighborhood living rooms.  

After working as a chef for a decade and transitioning to specialty food sales, Rossi enjoys spending time in the kitchen. However, a life-changing event turned the trajectory of her career. When her daughter was born at 24 weeks and spent four months in the NICU, Rossi realized her true calling was to become a NICU nurse with one semester to go before graduation.  

“We all have these daytime jobs that we really care about, but there is that one creative outlet that we need; Fancypants Boards is my passion project that allows me to be creative,” Rossi said. “I intended to start small and my first weekend I did 30 boards, and it hasn’t slowed down since.” 

Rossi pays particular attention to the cheeses included on the boards, and all the board are created based on what she’s feeling that weekend. There are always three cheeses, a few types of meat, fresh or dried fruit, and two types of accoutrement that she makes herself.  

“I always choose to add something sweet and something pickled on every board, and my favorites include pickled asparagus, pickled green beans, butternut squash mustard, and tomato jam,” she said. “If you take a tour around the board, you can find a million combinations; there’s nothing that doesn’t belong with each item.” 

Three sizes are offered: the “Mind Your Business” serves one for $25; “Charcuterie and Chill” serves four as a snack or two for dinner for $40; and “Friends Forever” serves eight as a snack or four for dinner for $55.  

Rossi chooses sustainable boards, so there is no plastic to throw away after the food is devoured. She’s used fallen palm leaves in the past and is currently working with recycled wood pulp that is molded like a cafeteria tray.  

Each week, a Google form is uploaded to her Facebook and Instagram pages with the week’s charcuterie flavors. Orders are due by midnight each Thursday and she delivers on Saturdays and Sundays. “The community response has been incredible! We moved to Beverly not too long ago and we didn’t know anyone. Through different neighborhood Facebook groups, I’ve been able to meet so many nice neighbors,” Rossi said.  

Follow Fancypants Boards on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on this week’s charcuterie board flavors. 

 

 

Top Chef Joe Flamm: Cooking and Connection 

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By Grace Kuikman 

The winner of Week 12 – a private dinner prepared by Top Chef Joe Flamm — will be thrilled not just with the food, but with the company. Flamm has an amazing love of food traditions that bring people together around a meal as the centerpiece of celebrating connection. 

Flamm’s path to success began in Ashburn where he grew up, and came full circle back to the South Side when he and his wife, Beverly/Morgan Park native Hillary Delich settled in North Beverly two years ago. It was a move that put them in close proximity with family (Hillary’s parents and Joe’s mother live in the neighborhood) and provided the sense of community the couple wants for their son Luca, who will be two this month.  

Family and community are priorities for Flamm who learned to love cooking and food traditions as a child, helping his Grandma Mary, now 91, in her kitchen. Grandma Mary’s parents came from Italy, and Flamm said they didn’t have much but tradition and recipes. “I always loved the traditions and the holidays,” Flamm said. “… making ravioli for Thanksgiving and the feast of the seven fishes for Christmas. That’s how I came up. I feel really grateful for that.”   

Flamm got his first restaurant job when he was 15.  “I instantly fell in love with the energy of being in a restaurant, and the sense of belonging,” he said. Early on he decided he wanted to own a restaurant someday. Not knowing anyone in the business who could guide him to his dream, he enrolled in college for accounting. He planned to go to law school, become a lawyer and make enough money to open a restaurant when he was 50.  About half–way through college, he realized that was a flawed plan, so he dropped out and enrolled in culinary school.  

“A week later I started my first real cooking job at Table Fifty-Two on the Gold Coast,” he said. He went to culinary school Monday through Friday, 8 to 4, then headed straight to the restaurant to work. On Saturday and Sunday, he worked doubles.  “All I did was cook . . . I was hooked.”  

Flamm was on a trajectory for success.  

“Chicago’s one of those cities where the food scene is so good, it’s a city with a lot of great chefs,” he said. He had the opportunity to work with some of those chefs: Art Smith at Table Fifty-Two, Stephanie Izard at Girl and the Goat , Bill Kim at bellyQ, and Tony Mantuano at Michelen-starred Spiaggia and Café Spiaggia.  

When he was working as executive chef at Spiaggia, there was a casting call in Chicago for Bravo’s Top Chef. “I didn’t go,” Flamm said. “I didn’t even know about it.”  

Serendipity being what it is, the show’s producers called Chef Mantuano; they were disappointed in the talent that showed up for the casting call and asked if he could recommend chef for them to interview. “He told them, ‘Sit down with my chef Joe. I think you’ll really like him,’” Flamm recalled. Then Mantuano called Flamm at the restaurant. “He said to stay there. The show producers were on their way to the restaurant to meet me.”  

That meeting was the catalyst for a nearly four–month process that culminated with Flamm being chosen for the TV cooking competition. “They called and said, “Pack your bags.” Flamm spent two months in Colorado, spending all day cooking at the highest level, winning day after day until he was named Top Chef season 15. “Top Chef is kind of a crazy experience; a weird and rigorous competition. I made friends for life,” he said.  

He also made a name for himself as a chef. 

Flamm’s next big thing is opening his restaurant, Rose Mary (named for his two grandmothers), in the West Loop in 2021. Flamm will be serving Adriatic cuisines from the food traditions of Italy inspired by his family, and Croatia, inspired by Hillary’s father, Lou Delich, who is Croatian. The two cuisines have a lot in common.  

“Italy and Croatia are not far apart geographically so the cultures are intertwined,” Flamm said, adding, 

“You marry into a culture. It becomes your life and your child’s life. So much of culture is about cuisine.”  

The winners of BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas final raffle have a lot to look forward to, but there are no sneak previews. “I always like planning the dinner with the person,” Flamm said. Of course he does.  

Tickets for the last four offerings in BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle are $20 each and available at www.bapa.org.   

 

12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle: November Surprises! 

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By Brittany Wiley 
BAPA Business Liaison 

BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle got off to a spectacular start with lots of people competing for creative collections of goods, services and meals from Beverly/Morgan Park businesses. For just $20 per ticket, people have a chance to win a prize that’s worth $1500! Each package has a theme to maximize the fun as well as the value.  

Here’s the November lineup: 

One Room Makeover 

Drawing:  November 6 

The Week #5 prize offers the chance to renew one with the help of a design dream team led by Robin Harmon of RMH Interiors. Harmon believes there’s nothing more important than “how we live.” Home should be a refuge and the most comfortable space we inhabit. A welcoming home reflects our mental state and helps keep us centered and focused on what really matters – especially important right now! With Harmon, you will be working with a client-focused professional committed to building long-term relationships that deliver beautiful interiors for functional living. 

Once you’ve conceptualized your design with Harmon, you’ll work with Jo Marie Frigo, owner of Fantasy Walls. Frigo specializes in color consultation, interior/exterior painting, decorative painting, Italian plasters, and detailed prep work and repair.  She will purchase all materials from Calumet Paint & Wallpaper. 

For the perfect finishing touches, shop for unique and vintage décor from Beverly Hills Marketplace and Root Consignment. 

Horse Thief Hollow at Home 

Drawing:  November 13 

Enjoy a memorable – and delicious — evening at your house for dinner for six, custom-created by Neil Byers of Horse Thief Hollow Brewing Co. The  evening includes a menu of food and wine pairings thoughtfully crafted by Byers and his Chef de Cuisine, Jon Tarcak. 

The evening includes a hands-on pasta making class with Chef Tarcak, who has a passion for pasta that he inherited from his Italian grandmother. Tarcak grew up eating her homemade pasta at family meals and learned the craft at her hands. He sees pasta as a canvas for a wide range of culinary influences, not just Italian. Horse Thief Hollow patrons have enjoyed his delectable pasta in dishes such as Mexican-inspired Street Corn Cappellacci and Smoked Trout and Potato Pierogi.  

Your three--course dinner will be paired with seasonal cocktails, barrel–aged Horse Thief Hollow craft beer and premium wine from Wren Hop Vineyards.  Byers is an avid outdoorsman who loves hunting, fishing and gardening. Your dinner will feature ingredients harvested from Byer’s garden or foraged by him, as well as beef from Angus cattle raised in collaboration with Chicago School for Agricultural Sciences for Horse Thief Hollow. 

Your memorable evening will be commemorated with a handmade pasta board by RPW Creations. 

 

Backyard Makeover by City Grange 

Drawing: November 20 

Create a new backyard escape with the help of a landscape designer from City Grange, where their mission is to remove every barrier to your gardening success. That’s true in their shops and true in their landscape design process. Designers plan for longevity in the design, installation and plant selection used to create your garden oasis. City Grange provides “the good plants” – native, pollinator friendly, organic, edible and beautiful. 

Kickstart your new 2021 garden with a “Plan & Plants” kit: The City Grange design team will discuss your needs, develop a plan and provide a palette of perennials and shrubs to get your garden going. (Labor is not included.) 

Spend the winter learning more about gardening and plants with “A Year in Flowers” and “The Big Book of Flower Gardening” from Bookie’s. 

 

Take 5 for Health & Fitness 

Drawing: November 27 

Win five-class packages from five local fitness centers: Barre it All, Blazin’ Cycle, F45, Live & Believe and Treadfit. Outfit yourself for your workouts with $400 worth of shoes and apparel from Running Excels, and jumpstart a healthy renewal with a five-day cleanse from local favorite cold pressed juicery, Bani’s Beets. 

Once you’ve tried all the classes, pick your favorite and get $500 toward a class pack or personal training! 

Barre It All Fitness combines High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with a variety of strength exercises for a smart, effective way to work out. Their experts in HIIT, cardio drills, strength, barre, and yoga give clients everything their bodies need which minimizes the chance of injury. 

Blazin Cycle sessions feature mixed-intensity, music-based cardio workouts. They don’t light candles or and we don’t promise an out-of-body experience. What they do promise is training that moves clients forward together, as instructor and member, and as a class. 

At F45, the F stands for functional training: a mix of circuit and High–Intensity Interval Training style workouts geared toward everyday movement. 45 minutes is the total amount of time for sweat-dripping, heart-pumping fun! 

Live and Believe Nutrition (The LAB), is a place to enjoy a variety of fitness classes and nutritional support, and also to live and believe. Their MindFit workouts are designed to challenge mind and body. Their philosophy: You can have the perfect routine, but until you are willing to shift your mindset, your results will stay the same. They don’t just work their bodies, they strengthen their minds to achieve more. 

Treadfit is a rapidly growing fitness brand that provides small group customized workouts from certified trainers. Each class will improve clients’ overall fitness levels using interval training on the treadmill, coupled with full-body strength training.  At Treadfit, no class is ever the same! 

Ready for the Raffle? 

Here’s how it works: Through the week leading up to Christmas, BAPA will offer a new prize package that’s composed of gift certificates, experiences and/or merchandise purchased at full retail price from small businesses and business owners in our community. Check out the weekly prizes and buy your raffle tickets at bapa.org. Ticket purchases for that week’s raffle close at 3 p.m. on Fridays. The prize drawings are at 5 p.m., and ticket sales for the new week begin immediately following. There is no ticket limit. The final prize winner will be drawn on Wed., Dec. 23.  

Support Local Businesses and BAPA 

The 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle has inspired creative collaboration among businesses as business owners. At a time when businesses have been so hard-hit by the pandemic, BAPA is investing $18,000 in our local economy and promoting the meals, goods and services available right here in our community. BAPA hopes to raise enough money from the raffle to cover expenses; additional funds will go toward restoring the organization’s budget deficit created by loss of special event income due to the pandemic.  

Details and Tickets 

Look for BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle links in BAPA’s Facebook and Instagram posts, at bapa.org and via QR codes on posters and promotional materials distributed throughout the neighborhood.  

 

Win-Win!  12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle Supports Local Businesses 

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Win-Win! 

12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle Supports Local Businesses 

Your $20 investment could win a prize valued at $1500. That alone is a great deal. But when you add in that your $20 is also supporting dozens of neighborhood businesses and raising funds to keep our community strong, AND offering a new prize every week through Dec. 23, BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle is a spectacular win-win!   

Here’s how it works: 

Every week for 12 weeks, BAPA will offer a new prize package that’s composed of gift certificates, experiences and/or merchandise purchased at full retail price from small businesses and business owners in our community. 

Beginning Sat., Oct. 3, everyone is welcome to check out the fabulous packages at bapa.org, and start buying $20 raffle tickets for the prizes to be awarded in the current week. There is no ticket limit.  

The prize for Week #1 is a private rooftop party for 24 at Open Outcry Brewing Company which features a special menu, beer pairing and live music. The drawing for Week #1 will be held Fri., Oct. 9.  

Ticket purchases close at 5 p.m. on Fridays for each week’s raffle. Winners will be chosen at random, and the fun begins all over again for the next week’s competition. The first drawing will be held Oct. 9 and the final prize winner’s name will be drawn on Wed., Dec. 23.  

“We wanted to create excitement for our small business community and keep it going through the holiday shopping season,” said BAPA Business Liaison Brittany Wiley.  Wiley and BAPA Executive Director Mary Jo Viero started with a simple raffle concept and shaped it into a 12–week campaign that will benefit our small businesses and inspire friendly competition for high–value prize packages among area residents. 

12 Packages/12 Themes 

“Each package has a theme to maximize the fun as well as the value,” Wiley said. Themes range from an Inner Wellness package with services from Relaxation Station and merchandise from Southtown Health Foods; to a four-course private dinner prepared by Top Chef Joe Flamm including a table scape from Oak & Bloom and wait service by the Party Pros.  

The 12 Weeks of Christmas raffle packages promote inspired collaboration among businesses as business owners worked with Wiley and Viero to come up with a variety of ideas that will really appeal to area residents who are buying raffle tickets.  

“It was so much fun to meet with business owners and share our idea, then see the excitement build as the packages were developed,” Wiley said. “We think there will be a lot of demand for raffle tickets; $20 for a chance to win a $1,500 value is a great deal!”  

Other packages are built around golf at Beverly Country Club, unique dining experience at Horse Thief Hollow, Taste of Beverly treasure trove of gift certificates from  local restaurants, a room makeover led by RMH Interior Design, Vinyl Virtuoso featuring everything for the audiophile from Beverly Records and Bookies, Bike Beverly including a bike and accessories from Beverly Bike and Ski, Family in Focus – outfit the family at Belle Up and Sprout and Berry then pose for that family portrait you always wanted, have it framed at Heritage Gallery then get it printed on custom holiday cards from AlphaGraphics.  

Supporting Local Businesses 

“At a time when businesses have been so hard-hit by the pandemic, BAPA is investing $18,000 in our local economy and promoting the amazing goods and services available right here in our community,” Viero said.  

“The raffle tickets are affordable so people can really enjoy competing for the packages they would like to win.” Wiley said. People can buy as many tickets as they wish and try their luck for all 12 of the packages. 

BAPA hopes to raise enough money from the raffle to cover expenses; additional funds will go toward restoring the organization’s budget deficit created by loss of special event income due to the pandemic.  

Details and Tickets 

Look for BAPA’s 12 Weeks of Christmas Raffle links in BAPA’s Facebook and Instagram posts, at bapa.org and via QR codes on posters and promotional materials distributed throughout the neighborhood.  

 

 

History Mystery Bike Adventure 

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More Mystery, More Adventure & More Fun for the Whole Family 

As most community events are being cancelled, BAPA is bringing back a retooled, social distancing-friendly version of its popular History Mystery Bike Tour. An exciting way to see the neighborhood, harness sleuthing skills, and get in some active outdoor time with family and friends, new History Mystery Bike Adventure offers four all new puzzle-solving challenges with some updates, prizes and family-friendly options.  

In its heyday, the History Mystery Tour was held as a one-day family focused biking event, coupled with food and music. For the new version, people will participate on their own using clues and maps printed in The Villager starting this month and available on BAPA’s website.   

As many residents take to the streets on two wheels to enjoy the warmer weather and stay active, the resurrected History Mystery Bike Adventure is an option for families to add some fun to their rides and discover new routes in the community. It is just one of multiple BAPA alternative events being held this summer that allow residents to practice social distancing, but still get out and participate in a community-wide activity.  

The new History Mystery Bike Adventure starts pedaling in West Beverly. Every month through September, the series will take residents to a new area of the neighborhood to solve clues using the printed map in that month’s Villager and at www.bapa.org.  

Clues will cover a wide range of topics specific to each area of the neighborhood. From architecture and history, to local businesses and everyday sights, residents can spend the summer discovering everything that makes the Beverly/Morgan Park community so unique.  

Once participants have completed the clues, they will be able to solve the History Mystery puzzle. Each month, completed puzzle answers can be submitted to BAPA via email (bapa@bapa.org) with the subject line History Mystery to be qualified for prizes for that month. Prize winners will be randomly selected from the correct puzzle answers received, one entry per family please. Future adventures will take residents to East Beverly in July, North Beverly in August, and Central Beverly in September. 

BAPA encourages bicyclists to always practice bike safety and etiquette when riding. For more tips and recommendations on how to bike safely in our community, check out Bike Safety Information. To get started on the first History Mystery Bike Adventure of the summer, find your map and list of clues here. Good luck! 

Although you won’t be able to win any prizes, you can still get out and explore the neighborhood with the previous months bike maps and clue sheets here: June, July, August, September

 

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: It’s Just What We Do 

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Neighbors Helping Neighbors: It’s Just What We Do 

As we all keep our social distance it’s more important than ever that we are a community of neighbors helping neighbors: check on one another, follow the common–sense rules for keeping yourself and others safe, and remember to support local businesses. Thank you to all medical people, first responders and others who are staying on the job to make sure our country keeps running. BAPA will keep sharing community information and updates in The Villager, in our weekly enews, on social media and at www.bapa.org.  

BAPA staff is currently working from home and can be reached via email: Mary Jo Viero, Executive Director, mjviero@bapa.org; Grace Kuikman, Assistant Director and Villager editor, gkuikman@bapa.org; Brittany Wiley, Business Liaison, bwiley@bapa.org; Cathriona Fey, Community Outreach and Improvement, cfey@bapa.org; Tina Jenkins Bell, School Liaison, tbell@bapa.org; Gary Jenkins, Community Safety Liaison, gjenkins@bapa.org; and Talie Leeb, office manager, tleeb@bapa.org.   

As community events are cancelled BAPA is updating our online Community Calendar. Send your updates to reception@bapa.org.  

  

Ways to Help 

Donations to the 19th Ward Go Fund Me will provide meals and support for local first responders, medical providers and others who are protecting our community. Donate at www.19thwardmobile.com or send a check payable to the 19th Ward Youth Foundation to 10402 S. Western, Chicago 60643.  

Beverly Bakery, 10528 S. Western, is hosting a food pantry. Info: 773-238-5580.  

Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry, 11030 S. Longwood Dr., needs donations of money and dry goods to meet increased emergency needs for people in 60643 and 60655. Find details on page __ Info: 773-239-3013.  

Turpin Cares is collecting food, hygiene products and donations to help homeless people and others in need in nearly communities. Find out what they need and how to donate www.turpincares.org/donate  

 

Ways to Stay Healthy 

Many fitness providers are offering classes, tips and workouts online and through social media.   

Do Good Movement, daily yoga for adults and children at thedogoodmovement.com.   

CORE Fitness and Physical Therapy is posting daily workout challenges on Facebook at CORE fitness and PT.  

Beverly Barre offers live Instagram workouts; get details at www.facebook.com/beverlybarrechicago/. 

Beverly Yoga Center offers online classes. Find out more at 773-239-9642 or info@beverlyyogacenter.com.   

Treadfit is posting workout challenges on Facebook, www.facebook.com/treadfitbeverly/. 

Barre It All Fitness is offering a special price for people without a membership to sign up for two months of unlimited classes. Details: www.barreitallfitness.com. 

 

Things to Do From Home 

Children can train for BAPA’s Ridge Run 5K at home using the 10-Week 5K Youth Training Program. To get a copy, email Tina Jenkins Bell, tbell@bapa.org.    

Morgan Park Presbyterian Church is offering video streaming of worship via Facebook.  

The Great Connections invites people to join them in reading American Tall Tales featuring characters like Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and Davy Crockett. Find reading and discussion ideas thegreatconnections.org.  

Edna White Community Garden and Illinois Extension Master Gardeners will be planting gardens to supply fresh produce to the Maple Morgan Park Community Food Pantry. Keep up on the details and learn how to volunteer at the Edna White Garden Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/221301244573122/ 

Beverly Covenant Church is livestreaming services Sundays, 10:45 a.m. and weekdays at 10:30 a.m., Pastor Don Nelson is hosts online “coffee break” featuring scripture, reflection and prayer, both via Facebook.  

Chicago Resources  

19th Ward Service Offices, 773-238-8766 or ward19@cityofchicago.org.  

Get COVID-19 updates from the Chicago Department of Public Health at Chicago.gov. 

  

 
 

 

Eat, Drink and Shop Local

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Responding to the coronavirus requires us to maintain a safe distance – not what we’re used to in our close-knit, sociable community. Even from home we can work together to make it through these unprecedented times and stay informed on what is changing and what is needed. Below is a list of Beverly/Morgan Park restaurants offering carry outs & delivery and businesses offering special ways to shop. 

For many of the following businesses, details about their hours and offerings are available on their websites or Facebook pages.

County Fair Foods, 10800 S. Western, is open from 7 to 8 a.m. for senior shoppers only; all others can shop after 8. Countyfairfoods.net.

Southtown Health Foods, 2100 W. 95th St., is open. Reach them on Facebook or at southtownhealthfoods.com. Offering groceries as well as a variety of beauty and healthcare products.

 

Ain’t She Sweet Café, Beverly, 773-840-3309. Carryout and delivery through Grubhub. Details

Beverly Bakery & Café, 773-238-5580. Carryout and Delivery. 7am-2pm Weekdays, 7am-1pm Weekends. Details

Barney Callaghan’s Pub -773.233.6829 – open 3pm – 7pm for curbside beer pickup.  $15 domestic cases, $25 import cases.

Horse Thief Hollow, 773-779-2739. Carryout and free local delivery Tuesday-Sunday 4PM-9PM, 25% off Crowlers on Tuesdays, merchandise available for purchase. Details

Open Outcry Brewing Co., 773-629-6055. daily 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., delivery or curbside pickup. Order 32-oz Crowler cans, kitchen menus items, gift certificates and merchandise. Credit card only.  Details

Swanson’s Deli, 773.239.1197 – open for pickup and delivery 10am – 3pm.  Now offering meal kits along with regular menu and take home meals. Details.

Pizzeria Deepo, 773-840-3087. Carryouts, curbside pickup. Details

Nine One One BBQ Shack, 773-238-9111. No-contact curbside delivery. Carryout. Facebook page 

Top Notch, 773-445-7218. Carryout.

Barracos 95th Street, 773-881-4040. Area locations open 24 hours for carryout and delivery.  Details https://www.facebook.com/BarracosPizza/

AndySunflower Cafe: 9920 S. Western Ave. Accepting mobile, drive-up orders. Details

Manzo’s Burger – 773.779.5945 – open for curbside pickup and delivery – For delivery orders please text your order and address to 773-349-0453. We will be delivering from 95th st. to 127th st. from Pulaski to Ashland  Details

Nicky’s Grill, 773-233-3072. Carry out and delivery. Details and menu

Ken’s on Western, 773-238-0234. Free delivery within 2 miles or curbside pick-up, 4 to 9 p.m. Details

Calabria Imports, 773-396-5800. carry out or delivery. Details

Fox’s Beverly Pub, 773-239-3212. Carryout and delivery, lunch and dinner. Details

Americano’s, 773-941-6787. 11060 S. Western Ave. No-contact curbside delivery and Margaritas-To-Go! Details

Franconello, 773-881-4100.  Curbside pickup and delivery, heat and serve meals and sauces. Wine Delivery Details

Bani’s Beets, 773- 599-9764. Curbside pick up and delivery. Details

Hearty Café, 773-881-1000 carry outs; delivery via Uber Eats, Door Dash and Grub Hub. Details

Two Mile Coffee Bar, 773-614-8115. Available for carry out. Place an order over the phone or through mobile ordering system for rapid pick up. Curbside assistance available upon request. Details

Pizzeria Deepo, 773-840-3087. Pay and order over the phone for curbside pick-up. Details

Retail Specials

Beverly Records, 773-779-0066. Shop via Facetime appointments or in store. Details

Running Excels, 773-629-8587. Shop by phone or by FB messenger. Curbside pickup contactless payment and free delivery within a 5 mile radius. Details 

Turkey Chicago. Shop online or via social media.  Details

Belle Up, 773- 233-2442. Shop online or via social media.  Details

Bookie’s – Chicago is open for shopping online including digital and audio books.

Steuber Florist 773.238.2013 – taking orders 10am-2pm Monday-Friday

Brach’s Auto – 773.238.0606 – All services available, FREE vehicle pickup and drop off, no contact dropbox, vehicle sanitization after service

 

Businesses Temporarily Closed

Beverly Arts Center 

Ohana Ice & Treats

Original Pancake House, 773-445-6100

Capsule Chicago

Starbucks 103rd and Longwood Drive

Health and Fitness

Do Good Movement: Daily adult and children yoga. Details

CORE Fitness and Physical Therapy: Posting daily workout challenges on Facebook: Details

Beverly Barre: Live Instagram workouts: Details 

Beverly Yoga Center: Online classes available: Details

Treadfit: Posting workout challenges on Facebook, Details

Barre It All Fitness, (872) 256-1397, 8-10 online live classes a day Sunday-Monday. For details and a free week visit us Here and click “free trial.”

Fit Code: Unlimited Virtual Training Sessions for 21 days with a donation of your choice. 70% of the donation used to buy gift cards from local businesses and 30% goes to trainers at Fit Code. Details

Dance Gallery 773.445.8910 Streaming workouts and dance classes on Facebook Details

 

Mental Health

Beverly Therapists – 773.310.3488 – offering teletherapy

Begin Within Therapy– offering teletherapy

Mirjam Quinn & Associates – offering teletherapy

C&D Family Farms has made arrangements with a few 95th Street farmers market vendors to distribute their products on their website. Coming soon at cdfamilyfarms.com will be products from Honey and Jam, Feed Your Head vegan meats, Long Table pancake mixes and bread from Breadman Baking.

Eat, Drink and Shop Local

Our restaurants and stores need your business! Purchase gift certificates, order carryout meals from restaurants, shop online. Dollars spent helping our business neighbors helps our community stay strong. BAPA is updating local business info on this page. If you have a business update, please email info to Brittany Wiley, BAPA Business Liaison, bwiley@bapa.org.

Infographic with 25 ways to support small businesses

 

 

Local Catholic Schools to Lead South Side Irish Parade  

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“Thankful for Catholic Elementary School Teachers,” representing 16 area schools, is Grand Marshal of the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Leading the parade in the Grand Marshal unit on Sun., Mar. 15 will be principals, teachers and staff from Beverly/Morgan Park parishes, Christ the King School, St. Barnabas School, St. Cajetan School, St. John Fisher School and St. Walter. Other area schools marching as Grand Marshal are Most Holy Redeemer, Queen of Martyrs, St. Bede the Venerable, St. Benedict, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Christina, St. Ethelreda, St. Gerald, St. Germaine, St. Linus and St. Margaret of Scotland.  

The South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, co-chaired this year by Jim Smith and Tim McSweeney, selected the Grand Marshal because they are thankful for all the hardworking individuals who dedicate their lives to educating Chicago’s Catholic school children.  

“The South Side Irish Parade was founded on the themes of faith, family, community and Irish heritage and local Catholic elementary school teachers go that extra mile every day evoking the themes and inspiring our students,” Jim Smith said. 

Serving as the 2020 Parade Honoree is the Tom Hopkins Foundation. The foundation was created by the children of the late Tom Hopkins, or “Papa Hops,” to assist families affected by cancer and to support youth athletics. The foundation keeps Hopkins’ spirit alive by hosting the Papa Hops softball tournament at Kennedy Park every summer. Over the past five years, the foundation has raised thousands of dollars to support local families affected by cancer as well as to support athletic departments and youth athletics at ten Catholic elementary schools.  

The South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off from 103rd and Western Avenue at noon on Sun., Mar. 15, marching south to 115th Street.  Preceding the Parade at 11:30 a.m. is the Emerald Isle Mile race sponsored by Running Excels. Run details and sign-up are available at runningexcels.com.  

The parade will be a celebration of Irish heritage, featuring bands, floats, dancers, 2020 South Side Irish Parade Queen Bailey O’Connell, families, dignitaries, vehicles and fire trucks. Also expected to appear are a few leprechauns, St. Patricks and Irish wolfhounds.  

The event is family friendly, and has a strictly enforced zero tolerance for alcohol policy along the parade route.  Pubs and restaurants along Western will be open for business and invite parade-goers to stop in and celebrate responsibly.  

Steeped in family tradition and neighborhood pride, the South Side Irish Parade was started in 1979 by best friends, Beverly/Morgan Park residents George Hendry and Pat Coakley. Sitting around Hendry’s kitchen table, the friends fondly remembered their experiences at the original South Side Irish Parade on 79th Street. That parade moved downtown in 1960.  

Hendry and Coakley wanted to create something for their children. With the help of their wives, they gathered 17 children from nearby blocks and on a rainy St. Patrick’s Day, Sat., Mar. 17, set them to march – kids only – around the 10900 blocks of Washtenaw and Talman in the first South Side Irish St. Pat’s Parade. One boy was dressed as St. Patrick, one girl was named parade queen, boy scouts carried the American flag and other pushed the “float” – a baby buggy decorated with shamrocks and the 26 county flags of Ireland.  

The theme of the parade was “Bring Back St. Pat,” and neighbors stood on their porches, waving at the marchers.  

The following year the gathering moved to the side streets around Kennedy Park, with 300 participants – including a bag piper! — marching, pulling wagons, riding bikes and walking dogs.  

On Mar. 15, 1981, the parade marched down Western Avenue for the first time. The rest is local history, and you can read more on the parade website, southsideirishparade.com.  

Remembering and Raising Funds: Ridge Run Has Place for Teams   

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Remembering and Raising Funds: Ridge Run Has Place for Teams   

Teams have been participating in the Ridge Run for a long time, but it wasn’t until about four years ago – with the creation of the school running teams – that BAPA made an effort to recruit groups running as teams.  

“We organized school team training and set up Team Town at Ridge Park, giving groups a place to meet and call ‘home base’ during the event,” recalled BAPA Executive Director Mary Jo Viero.  Teams did not have a way to raise funds or awareness to support their causes. 

That’s all changed. 

A few months ago, Viero was approached by a group of people whose dear friend, Jessica Bryar, lost her life to leukemia last February. Bryar was an avid runner and longtime Beverly/Morgan Park resident. She loved the Ridge Run, and her friends wanted to set up a team, run in her memory, and raise funds for their newly created Jessica Bryar Legacy Fund.  

Like most running events, Ridge Run registration is handled by a service. That service does not have a functionality for individual team fundraising, so Viero came up with a new plan. “The idea is based on an event held through another organization I was associated with,” Viero said, explaining that Ridge Run teams will participate in a pre-race fundraiser through which donations will be shared.  

“It’s a win-win,” Viero said. Teams will earn contributions to benefit their charities, raise awareness through networking with other organizations and at the race, and enjoy a party.  

Team Jessica Bryar was in. 

Team Jessica member Joe Murphy shared his friend’s story. The two became friends in the 4th grade at St. John Fisher School and remained close through their teen years, college years, and as adults. They celebrated their 40th birthdays together in Puerto Rico.  Bryar had a career in the Cook County Public Defenders Office, serving some of the county’s families who needed help the most. “To say Jessica was an awesome person is an understatement,” Murphy said.  

Bryar was diagnosed with leukemia Thanksgiving week, 2018. She fought for three months.  

Murphy is among a group of Bryar’s friends who feel that running the Ridge Run as a team is a great way to remember their friend, bring attention to leukemia, and start raising funds for the Jessica Bryar Legacy Fund. “Running was so special to her,” Murphy said. “She loved the Ridge Run.”  

Murphy said it’s easy to sign up a team for the Ridge Run, and that he and the team look forward to the fundraising event to be held in spring. The team will be having T-shirts made, and, following the race, will gather at their tent in Team Town at Ridge Park to celebrate their accomplishment and honor Bryar’s memory.  

The youngest of seven kids, Bryar was always active, and one of her favorite things was doing the Ridge Run on Memorial Day. One of her sisters lives on the route, and everyone in the family who’s not running goes there to cheer on everyone in the family who is running. They will be cheering for Team Jessica when Murphy and friends run by this year on May 25.  

“We’re really encouraging teams to come together for the Ridge Run this year,” Viero said. “Teams can fun to raise funds or raise awareness, or just to have fun as a group of friends or family members.” 

The Ridge Run offers five participant options: 10K run, 5K run, 10K + 5K Ridge Run Challenge, 5K untimed walk and 1 mile untimed youth run.  

All area schools are invited to form teams and take advantage of BAPA’s free 5K training for students. Schools can also compete win the school trophy awarded for most running team participants based on school enrollment.  

Ridge Run registration is open now at www.bapa.org. Groups interested in learning more about forming teams or who have questions can contact Mary Jo Viero, 773-233-3100 or mjviero@bapa.org.  

 

 

Set Your Sights on Ridge Run 2020 

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Set Your Sights on Ridge Run 2020 

Sign up by January 12 and save 

Is this the year you do your first Ridge Run?  

Is this the year you beat your personal best time? 

Is this the year you organize a team? 

Is this the year you march in the parade? 

The 2020 Ridge Run and Memorial Day Parade are filled with opportunities for personal challenges, fundraising and just plain family fun.  

The Beverly Area Planning Association (BAPA) invites runners of all ages, paces and distances to participate in the 43rd Annual Ridge Run on Memorial Day, Mon., May 25. Through Jan. 12, take advantage of discounted registration fees when you sign up online at www.bapa.org.  

The Ridge Run, long considered Chicago’s favorite neighborhood race, takes participants through the Ridge Historic District for the 10K run, 5K run and walk and Youth Mile. Cheering spectators line the route, offering encouragement, water and energy to the runners. Races start and finish at Ridge Park, 9625 S. Longwood Dr., where little runners compete in the annual Tot Trot and everyone is invited to the post-race festival.    

This year, BAPA will be expanding team sign-up, encouraging people to foster awareness and support for charities, compete for the elementary school Ridge Run trophy, or simply run or walk together as clubs, families or friends.  

For the people and groups that prefer marching, the event features the annual Memorial Day Parade honoring the men and women in the U.S. armed forces who have given their lives in service to our country.  

The Ridge Run and Memorial Day Parade are supported by sponsors and planned and presented with the help of volunteers. For more information on how you get involved or become a sponsor, contact BAPA, 773-233-3100 or bapa@bapa,org.