Latest news with #LaGrangeBusinessAssociation
Chicago Tribune
27-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
La Grange Farmers Market season kicks off with fresh finds
It may not have felt like produce season yet when the 29th season for La Grange's outdoor farmers market opened last week, but a healthy stream of shoppers browsed the area anyway, patronizing longtime vendors and new arrivals alike. The market will run from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday in its usual location at the corner of La Grange Road and Harris Avenue. 'The best thing to notice here is the variety,' said Dan Mulka, executive director of the La Grange Business Association. 'We have everything from the farmer's market that you would expect — all the crafts, all the lettuce and all the fruits. But we also have everything from flowers, lemonade, Alaskan salmon … we have a variety of things from almost every palette. So if you have a picky eater in your family, or a diverse set of culinary tastes, there's a little bit of something for everybody.' Mulka said the 46 vendors on hand for the initial market May 22 were seven more than last year, and that applications for spots were up by 10%. A full list of participating vendors can be found at Among the new vendors were Chicago Green Chile Company, Hook Point Fisheries, Heatley's Hot Pepper Farm and My Sourdough Bakery. 'We're trying to bring in a variety,' Mulka said. 'We're trying to evolve and bring options.' Chicago Green Chile Company is operated by retired Chicago Police officer Vince Fagan. 'I was born and raised in Beverly in the city, and I used to come through here all the time with friends and family,' Fagan said. Chicago Green Chile's most popular offerings are a green topping sauce — either mild or with more heat — followed closely by pickled asparagus spears with green chile. He's new to the La Grange market, but he's sold his wares at markets in Geneva, Wheaton, Frankfort and Morris. 'Last fall was when we started off doing these products, but I developed my recipes several years before that,' Fagan said. 'This is the first big retail season and we're expanding like crazy.' Fagan said his products are designed to be flexible to customers' tolerance for heat. 'This is my recipe,' he said. 'The company motto is 'flavor not fire.'' Another food vendor, The Cheese People, are a staple at many area farmers markets, but the La Grange event has a particular appeal for cheese monger Carolyn Waldee. 'I love this farmers market,' Waldee said. 'This is actually the first one I worked back in 2018. The community is really lovely, there's a great community of vendors here.' A Taste of Michigan Cherries is in its second year at La Grange's Farmers Market. 'We had tried to get into this market before, but there were no openings because there were none available,' Miguel Duran said. 'Then something happened and they asked us if we wanted to try it, we said yes, and came right away last year in 2024 and it was very good for us in this market…we also have other markets. Saturdays, I'm in Park Ridge and my wife is in Arlington Heights.' Customer Ashly Audet was at the market looking for fresh finds. 'We got some asparagus and we noticed it was the same price (as regular stores) and it's local and a little bit fresher,' Audet said. 'And we got some bread that was baked fresh and actually got some coffee that was roasted yesterday.
Chicago Tribune
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Spring, St. Patrick's Day welcomed early in La Grange at Shamrock Fest
Nancy Cummings popped into Palmer Place in La Grange Saturday night to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a corned beef sandwich and green beer, even though the actual feast day was more than a week away. She wasn't alone, as the restaurant's 42nd annual Shamrock Fest was in full swing. 'Shamrock Fest is a really good example of the distinctive character of this community,' said Cummings, a longtime area resident and former executive director of the La Grange Business Association. 'It's all about family, and it's a tradition I look forward to every year … and best of all, it's a tradition that signals springtime is just around the corner.' Sticking with that seasonal theme, Dave Tarman, who owns Palmer Place, 56 S. La Grange Rd., with his wife, Leslie, said this year's Shamrock Fest would extend over two weekends. 'This is like a warmup,' he said. The celebration started out Friday evening with musician Scott Allen playing acoustic versions of classics to a light crowd amid cold rainy weather. But by Sunday the entertainment drew healthy crowds on a pleasant, warm afternoon. The festival seemed to have ushered in spring as predicted. Saturday's performers included dance troops from the Harling School of Irish Dance and the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance, as well as acoustic guitarist and singer Terry Byrne and Downers Grove-based guitarist and singer Bradley Hides. Sunday's schedule included companies from the Onorach Mulhern Geraghty School of Irish Dance and the Bentley Academy of Irish Dance, along with singer/guitarist Michael Z and acoustic duo CK & the Gray. Coleen Mulhern, owner and teacher at Onorach Mulhern Geraghty, said Shamrock Fest was an important part of her dancers' schedule. 'The kids love it,' Mulhern said. 'Right now, we're preparing for the world championship in Dublin, so we're doing some fundraising as well.' Dave and Leslie Tarman also own and operate The Silo Restaurant in Lake Bluff, a pub-style pizza place in operation since 1968, that's been run by the Tarman family for more than three decades. They bought Palmer Place from the Palmer family in late 2021 and began operations in early 2022. Dave Tarman said he and his wife had been looking all around the Chicago area for a place to expand and that they 'fell in love with La Grange.' They kept the Palmer Place name and made sure to retain the tradition of Shamrock Fest. 'The Palmers did a great job of establishing Shamrock Fest as a western suburb tradition, so it's really well known. We're trying to expand it just a little bit,' he said. In the fourth year of the Tarman's ownership, Dave Tarman stressed that while the celebration was a big investment for them with the tent and different acts, it's still a success for the business. 'The community has really supported it,' he said. The Tarmans plan to make entertainment a continuing feature of Palmer Place. 'We're really going to push live music Friday and Saturday night all summer,' Dave said, noting that most of his acts were from the Chicago area. 'We're also trying to bring people in who haven't played much in La Grange.'
Chicago Tribune
14-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
La Grange Restaurant Week offers post-Valentine's Day business boost
La Grange Restaurant Week, which kicks off Feb. 27, is a great way to offer some good exposure to area eateries at a time that can typically be slow for the businesses, participants said. Encompassing two weekends, the event's name is something of a misnomer. 'It's 10 days long, Thursday to Sunday, so it's a good week and a half for us,' said Joe Dellacroce, owner of GP Italiano, a Restaurant Week regular since opening in 2021. 'Restaurant Week is awesome,' he said. 'It brings a lot of people out to this area during these cold winter months. During Restaurant Week, it means that we will be able to fill up the restaurant and give us a good push for the winter. During the 14th edition of one of the Western Suburbs signature culinary events, from Feb. 27 through March 9, 22 La Grange dining establishments will offer special menus reflecting the village's culinary heritage. 'I like to say that Restaurant Week is a great excuse to get a meal and a dessert,' said Dan Mulka, executive director of the La Grange Business Association, which presents the annual promotion with the village of La Grange. 'You're saving money with some of the meals, and you get to try things you may not usually try.' GP Italiano, 1 S. LaGrange Rd., will offer special prices on various menu items to make a four-course meal. Specialties at Milk Money Brewing, 75 S. La Grange Road, will include blackened mahi mahi, Chicago-style pizza and hickory-smoked pork rib sliders. Woow Japanese Restaurant and Sushi, 35 S. La Grange Rd., will feature a three-course sushi dinner roll menu. Other participating restaurants include Marco's Kitchen, mána, Aodake Ramen, Barrel House Social, Blackberry Market, fourteensixteen, The Elm, Hangry Joe's, Kama Indian Bistro, Milkstop Cafe, Nonna's Goodlife Pizza, Prasino, Q BBQ, Santiago's, Shang Noodle, Steak + Vine, Sushi Ukai, Uppers Land and Wonderful Matcha. The complete list of restaurants and some specials are listed at Mulka said that he and LGBA representative Alissa Wade already sampled the fare at Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken and Wings, 1 N. La Grange Road, which opened late last year. He even tried the hottest sauce available, that Hangry Joe's makes customers sign a waiver before serving it. 'I took a bite and it was about two minutes before I broke into a complete sweat, and I only had a bite,' he said laughing. Dellacroce said he appreciates the LGBA's efforts to boost the downtown restaurant district, particularly through social media promotions. 'The La Grange Business Association does a really good job of exposing businesses throughout that time,' he said. 'It really brings a lot of people that maybe would not come to the La Grange and it brings them out here. If they're not coming to GP, they're next door at Kama, and see that there's a wood-fired pizza place and a place that's selling pasta next door. They'll remember that and come out in the next couple weeks and see us.' Stephanie Posey, president of the LGBA and proprietor of the Posey Law Group, said La Grange Restaurant Week provides benefits above and beyond great food, though it does showcase 'the incredibly diverse flavors that make our town special.' 'There is nothing like sharing a meal with friends and family,' she said. 'Great local food has the power to bring people together.' Although sponsorship of Restaurant Week is done by LGBA and the Village, other community members also help to promote the event.
