The Sugar Beet Co-op

I work very close to the Sugar Beet. And every single interaction I’ve had there has been extremely positive. The staff consistently greets you, makes sure you are doing okay, and the store is clean and well organized. Their hours are great and their prices are comparable to Whole Foods but you are supporting local, so I always opt to shop here over Whole Foods.
Recently, we came here to see if we could find the vegan Tofurkey Pepperoni Pizza. We did not, but the staff person that asked if we were doing okay happened to also be the shopper for the store. So we told him what we were looking for and he said they did not carry it, but he will order it and it will be at the store in a matter of a few days. And we did not have to purchase a full case, even though he had to purchase a full case to stock it.
So he ordered it and we went a few days later, and there it was! Stocked and cheaper than he quoted!
It’s 2016 and customer service seems to be getting scarce these days so whenever I have a great customer service experience the business will gain a customer for life. Thanks Sugar Beet!

I LOVE this place! Super friendly, convenient, filled with locally sourced items, and lots of vegetarian and vegan friendly options.
Also, the staff is quite knowledgable about every item in the store. More bulk items are being added with laundry detergent being the most recent I’ve tried.
So glad to have this resource available in Oak Park.

I was not impressed by my first visit in. This is like a mini overpriced whole foods… great right, not really! We live in an area with such amazing small food businesses as someone who frequents a lot of farmers markets I expected to see some familiar brands at the coop. I did see familiar brands but they were are the big national brands hardly any small local brands. Maybe I miss understood what a coop exactly is but I think I’ll just stick to whole foods and farmers markets… very disappointed!!!

I am big into locally sourced, organic and non-​GMO foods so the idea of The Sugar Beet Co-​op definitely appeals to me.
The place is about the size of a large convenience store except the shelves and refrigerators are stocked with conscientious alternatives to familiar foods. Their size restricts the variety of items they have. For example, I found all kinds of pork products but no ground beef.
One of the things I purchased was a pre-​made deli sandwich. I brought it home to M and we shared it for dinner. We thought it tasted fresh and used high quality ingredients. It was a great price.
There was an employee poking around the shelves who didn’t speak to me or acknowledge my presence as I wandered the couple of isles. Nobody offered to help. The check out guy was friendly. The lady at the café counter made my drink but chatted exclusively with another customer instead of me.

I absolutely love this place and no longer need to go anywhere else. It is open to the public for all to enjoy. And parking literally at the front door. If the Sugar Beet doesn’t have what you’re looking for, they can special order it for you (on a full case basis). Super friendly staff, clean, well organized. Everything is organic and fresh. This is really a great way to support local people, workers and business. If you become an owner, the discount you receive does eventually pay for your membership. So often they have great discounts for members only throughout the store. For example over Thanksgiving week they gave 10% off to owners for all goods in the store. I’m quite confident that I’ve already earned my money back through these great incentives. I also really ove that they have the coupons for products right there in front of the product. Not in a booklet somewhere in the store that you don’t see until the end of your shopping trip. Really nice smoothie/​coffee bar. Delicious pre-​made sandwiches for meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans (try the eggplant — ask for it to be warmed — delicious and I don’t even like eggplant — until now and in this sandwich). Give it a shot. It’s really worth it.

Sugar Beet has earned its 5^th star from me! Lower prices on staple items mean I can shop here more often. Since opening day, the staff really seem to have found their stride. I discover a great new product almost every time I visit (e.g. banana-​based ice cream!). Great vegan options are available. And from Koval whisky to hard ciders, the liquor department is stocked with quality beverages.

Came here for the first time about a month ago and have meaning to leave a review! This place is amazing. Their selection of bulk produce is the best I’ve seen (that offers the flexibility of bringing your own containers). I also found reusable beeswax covers to replace disposable plastic wrap! It’s a trek since I live in the city, but it’s worth it if you stock up.

As or more expensive than Whole Foods, a very small and poor selection of vegetables and I had to park across Madison (a busy intersection) not very safe when carrying groceries. Tried it three times, but didn’t work out. Hope it gets better

So we just discovered the Sugar Beet today and we thought it was great — really nice selection of products, friendly employees. We bought some produce items for our kids to snack on and they took it back to the café area and washed it thoroughly for us so the kids could eat it right away– very nice of them. Also their grab and go sandwiches are really tasty — probably the best $ 6 sandwich i’ve found in Chicago. Anyway, it’s only one visit but so far very happy.

I agree (with the other reviews) that it was hard to notice if the store was open or not.
Being a part (store front) of an apartment building there might be restrictions on signage.
However I liked the casual customer service, there were people around if I needed to ask questions, total no hassle shopping and totally easy to check out.
Although it was pricey but the items were all local and organic so i expected it.
I got a brick of munster cheese for like $ 5 which if I get the same brand at the farmers market would be smaller and cost $ 6.
So that was a win for me.

We love this place! We are new to the Oak Park area and were pleasantly surprised to find this hidden gem. The sale prices are better or comparable to Whole Foods, the staff is very warm and friendly, and the place is spotless. They also have a surprisingly large selection of craft beer, cider, and liquor.
Definitely check it out!

So glad to have such a top-​notch and independent natural/​organic type grocery store like this is Oak Park. Really cool combination of small store feel and huge selection. Awesome option to have instead of the Whole Foods corporation.

Huge Disappointment. After waiting for quite awhile for this store to open, I stopped in today. It is a nice little store, but I felt most of the fruits and vegetables were priced like Whole Foods — too high. I am all about helping the small local farmers and expect to pay a little more, but when I see something I purchase at the Farmers Market with a $ 2.00 increase, why buy at the co-​op? I was surprised to see Healthy Valley soup and Amy’s stuff, I can buy that anywhere. I liked the soaps, candles, oils, etc. but as far as the food selection and fresh produce I’m not impressed.
I’ll stick to Trader Joe’s and am glad that I did not buy into the co-​op, I wish the co-​op and the owners good luck.

I LOVE this place! I can find everything here that Whole Paycheck has and then some. I talked to the guy who does the ordering and got him to get a couple things that I needed and now I hardly want or need anything from anywhere else. I went when they first opened and it has changed a lot since then and it’s only been a couple of weeks. The people are getting better at the register and the food is filling the bins more and more. I’m so excited that this is finally here and the best part is that they’re open from 7am till 9pm!

I thought the promise of this place was great, reading about it for a year or two in the local news. Sure, there are some great products here, but part of their mission was to be supportive of low income families. That is a joke. The cheapest piece of cheese I saw was $ 7. What if one wanted normal sliced bread? A half gallon of milk for less than $ 3.50?
It is quite a bit more expensive than Whole Foods, but with a stock even more slanted towards unsubstantiated health food trends.

I’m pumped that there is a co-​op close to home. I get the feeling they are still getting used to being officially open, because some of the shelves were (still? newly?) empty when I was there. The fruits and veggies were all fresh and beautiful, and they had a massive selection of Wild Planet tuna. They have TONS of non-​dairy choices, as well as bunches of faux meat products. They carry my favorite ginger beer, and I was pleased to find a small but diverse alcohol selection as well.
The prices are a bit higher than I am used to, but I’m willing to pay it knowing so much of it is local and it’s community owned. (Between The Sugar Beet and Ed’s Way, I’ll never have to go to Jewel again! Yay!)

I have been looking forward to this place opening up for a long time. My visit was truly disappointing. Customer service is the key to any successful business. There were about 3 customers in the store and no one greeted us. Asked if we were finding everything okay. Nothing. The workers whizzed right by us. One at least said excuse me and the other two — not a peep. I want this business to succeed so hopefully customer service improves. The prices are also a tad high. Nonexistent customer service and high prices = «what they’re closed down already». 2 stars because it wasn’t a terrible experience — just not a pleasant one.

Fantastic! The space is bright. Lots of fresh veggies, local goodies in all directions, and a great beer, wine, and spirits section. The staff members are happy to help and excited about the brand new co-​op! Parking is easy. Check it out!

This is real competition for Whole Paycheck. I looked for all my vegan faves and pretty much found them all (they have nonveg stuff too tho). Prices were pretty comparable, but I imagine if the amount of business on opening day is any indication, the prices will drop. Also paid member owners get a discount.
I think it’s much better than Dill Pickle Co-​op too. DP isn’t a replacement for WP as much as an augment. SB has lots of staples.
Staff is friendly, everything is clean and inviting. The aisles are big enough for two carts to pass as well.
So take a trip out to the OP and check it out. It can’t be beet.

You might say this review is biased because I’m an owner (one of 1000+) — but that, of course, is the point. In a cooperative store, we all have a stake and we all contribute to making it what we want it to be.
And in the case of Sugar Beet, that means not only it is a beautiful store that focuses on local and sustainable products but it’s about building a community around issues of food justice.
As far as the store is concerned, after visiting on the very first «soft opening» day — putting aside the expected technical glitches — you can see how much the Sugar Beet has met and exceeded its vision. The store is elegantly designed and beautifully curated. I love that it truly able to be a one-​stop grocery store. Prices were competitive with other «health food» stores (and will certainly be tweaked as time passes), but more importantly, ALL of your money goes back to the community, so you money does so much more that it would do anywhere else.
As far as creating community, well, just start following the Sugar Beet on social media (or become an owner!) and you realize that this is so much more than a store. Over the past couple of years of build up, I’ve attended events focused on education, social justice, and entertainment — and met old and new neighbors along the way.
What more to say? Join the revolution.