Jefferson Park’s Fearless Cooking Shop Closing After 3 Years

JEFFERSON PARK — A kitchenware store that also made available cooking classes is closing at the conclusion of the month after 3 a long time in the community.

Fearless Cooking, 4410 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Jefferson Park, is closing July 27, proprietor Catherine Siebel declared in a publication to subscribers and on social media Tuesday.

Economic strains are to blame, Siebel wrote.

The organization opened in July 2019, 4 decades immediately after the owner and mother of two had the thought to curate cooking courses for newcomers. She secured the area in 2018 but experienced to hold out extra than a calendar year to open because of to metropolis inspections, paying rent on the place throughout the delay.

Then the pandemic hit, and Siebel pivoted to supplying digital lessons, deliveries, appointments and concierge reward providers although the store was shut. She had to lay off her personnel and stability homeschooling two young children throughout the quarantine, she wrote in the newsletter.

Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club Chicago

Fearless Cooking reopened for in-retail store classes and browsing in late 2020. The store has considering the fact that provided summer months cooking lessons for young children, revenue and cooking demonstrations kinds of cooking lessons and techniques, but they had been not sufficient to make up for shed revenue, she wrote.

The burden of the pandemic “has place us in really dire fiscal straits, and we have not been equipped to recover,” Siebel wrote.

Siebel did not straight away return requests for further more remark.

“Here is the fact: I did the finest I could. I did not hit every mark, by a very long shot,” Siebel wrote. “Here is the other reality – Fearless evidently is not the store that the community wants. In April, I had a lot more requests for donations than I had consumers.

“In 2022, I have canceled 6 lessons mainly because no one particular has registered. Throughout past week’s 20 % storewide sale, only eight customers arrived in for the whole 7 days,” she wrote.

The decision was a tough 1 to make but “it’s time to shift on,” Siebel continued. In a video clip to buyers posted on social media, the owner said she hopes the community will arrive say goodbye and check out out the store’s 20 per cent off sale, which is energetic right up until Fearless Cooking closes.

The retailer is also web hosting a closing social gathering 6 p.m. July 27.

“I hope you can come across approaches to see us, be part of us in the future handful of months,” Siebel mentioned. “It’s been rather a journey owning Fearless and currently being a component of this local community … I definitely take pleasure in absolutely everyone who supported us.”