Bronzeville Mariano’s brings relief to food desert

Armeker Wright hadn’t been able to find permanent work since 2009.

That’s when an injury ended her job as a special education aide with the Chicago Public Schools. She’s really excited over her new job at a Mariano’s store set to open Tuesday in Bronzeville.

“I was so happy after that third interview, when they told me, ‘Welcome aboard.’ And the first day of training, my manager noticed I catch on quickly, and moved me from a level 1 to level 2 employee,” she says.

“Aw, man, it’s a great feeling to go from not having anything to having something for your family.”

The second grocery to open in a food desert within two weeks, the Bronzeville Mariano’s, like Whole Foods in Englewood, is being celebrated for helping to lift up a community in need of revitalization.

The two new grocery stores brought much needed jobs: 100 to Englewood, 400 in Bronzeville.

Each gave an opportunity to minority entrepreneurs whose products grace their shelves: some 35 in Englewood, 48 in Bronzeville.

Each was built by an all-black team. And even before their opening, each spurred new business and residential development in both neighborhoods.

At Pershing Road and King Drive, the 74,000-square-foot Mariano’s replaces a lot vacant about a decade, ever since the Chicago Housing Authority tore down four dilapidated, drugs- and gang-challenged complexes: Ida B. Wells, Darrow Homes, Wells Extension and Madden Park homes.

But that past also provided an opportunity.

A $5 million deal called for CHA to sell 8.2 acres of land. In return, CHA residents would be guaranteed jobs, trained by the Cook County Workforce Partnership and Centers for New Horizons.

“I’d said to Bob Mariano, this is a former public housing site, so I really want to make a special effort toward hiring from residents who once lived here, to give them opportunities for good-paying jobs,” says Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Wright is among 97 beneficiaries of that bonus.

This July, when Emanuel visited Bronzeville to tout the Chicago Park District’s new $19 million Arts and Recreation Center in Ellis Park, he ran into Wright. She shared her story as an unemployed mother with four children ages 3 to 13 at home to care for, and soon after, her lot changed.

“I was called to come to a CHA hiring event,” a grateful Wright says. “I’m working in the bakery, making cookies and Danishes, stuff like that. I’m not going to stop there, though. I’m going to try to work my way up to manager.”

On Thursday, Bob Mariano, who recently retired as chairman, president and CEO of Mariano’s parent company Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc., was at the store, watching last-minute prep before an opening gala for dignitaries planned for Monday. Roundy’s was bought by The Kroger Co. in December.

“It’s very rewarding to see it all come together in a beautiful way, and now it starts to take on its own life as our employees are learning their roles and their responsibilities,” says Mariano. “If we’ve done our work right, we’ve created an environment where customers of Bronzeville are coming into a facility they feel comfortable in, a place they can feel is theirs.”

The store incorporates the community’s legacy into architecture. Its unique design includes a screen wall on King Drive that honors some of the most famous residents of the one-time Black Belt, so called because a majority of blacks were segregated there by the mid-20th century. It was home to such prominent artists and intellectuals as journalist Ida B. Wells, author Richard Wright, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, dancer Katherine Dunham, musician Louie Armstrong and sociologist Horace Clayton.

Murals in large window panels on 39th Street depict historic Bronzeville images. And inside, local artist Hebru Brantley was commissioned to create original works of art.

“This community is so rich in history. To acknowledge that and at the same time provide healthy foods, affordable prices, nice service and a great environment is something that’s been needed here for a very long time,” Mariano says.