HYDE PARK — A health food store in Hyde Park, which has served the neighborhood since the early 1970s, will soon close to make way for a Chick-Fil-A store, its owner confirmed this week.
Bonne Sante Health Foods, 1512 E. 53rd St., owner Christopher Bratten said Monday. In Hyde Park, it is preparing to close after half a century in business.
A 10-day “retirement sale” begins Saturday, with all items available at 25 percent off, Bratten said. “Obviously we hope to move as much product out of the store as possible” before renovating the store into a new Chick-Fil-A location, he said.
“We had a lot of clients who were very loyal to the business, loyal to what we were trying to accomplish: providing alternative treatment to people, and trying to do it in an affordable way, knowing that the health care system is broken in this country,” he said.
Chick-Fil-A representatives were not available Monday to confirm plans for the Hyde Park location, company spokeswoman Tricia Sylvia said. Renovations will likely begin in March, and the restaurant will likely be open by late summer, said Bratten, who owns the building.
Bratten's mother, LaVonne, founded Bonne Sante in 1972 near 53rd Street and Harper Street, kitty corner of the current location.
Health food stores at the time were “small, interesting places to buy wheat germ, bran, and alternative health items” — without a big brand representing the concept, as Whole Foods does today, Bratten said.
“My mother was a pioneer – not only as a woman who started a business in those years… but on top of that, she started a health food store, which was largely unknown,” he said.
Bratten bought Buon Sante from his mother in 1992, and bought its current location in 2000, he said.
Over the years, the store has expanded to offer vitamin and herbal supplements, a juice bar and a coffee shop, while remaining “fully committed to the cause” of selling merchandise without artificial additives or high levels of processing, Bratten said.
“Finding ways for people to say it's healthy, that was our goal, to make that happen,” he said. “I know we did, because so many people have told us so personally (amid) their battles with illnesses and illnesses. I'd be sad not to see those faces for sure.
Bratten will remain the owner of the building once Chick-Fil-A moves in, he said. He also owns Chicago Health Foods, 22 W. Maple St. on the near north side, which will remain open.
Hyde Park residents and sisters Kenya and Kasia Muhammad visited Bon Sante on Monday while shopping for sage and vitamins, little did they know the store would soon be closing. They said Kenya is an “occasional” patron of the store, while Cassia was making her first visit.
“I was really shocked when I heard the alternative was Chick-Fil-A,” Kenya Muhammad said. “I feel like this store is essential. It's so vital, especially at a time when our food is becoming more and more spoiled.
“I would just tell the owner and managers that we love it here. It's really helpful and healing to come to a place where you know you're going to get what you need. It's clean, safe and always has a good atmosphere.”
Eunice Sanders, the store's manager, said she plans to open her own store in Bronzeville under the name Sankofa Bonne Sante, a name that combines the old store's Old French translation for “good health” with Twi's phrase for “come back and get it.”
The new store “will be a Black-owned and operated store with the same great services that we offer,” Sanders said. She worked at Bonne Sante for six years and managed it for three, taking over for longtime manager Don Hanna.
Braaten has not yet discussed with Sanders whether her store will be allowed to keep the Bonne Sante name, he said. Braaten will not be involved in the Bronzeville store, although he will donate shelving and other infrastructure that Bon Sante no longer needs, he said.
Sanders said her store will be on Indiana Avenue, though she declined to share the address until she officially buys the property. She and Bratten said several Bonne Sante employees will be assigned to the Bronzeville store.
A juice bar and local vendors from Bonne Sante — including Sanders' own Younes brand — will be available in Bronzeville along with “healthy barbecue” meal options, she said.
The new store will also offer “wellness box” subscription and delivery services, as well as a “holistic healing” series this summer where kids can learn how to make candles and other products, Sanders said.
“I want to take my experience and pass it on to the next generation,” Sanders said. “I don't feel we can complain about the next generation if we don't give them the tools to succeed. One of those tools is the power of entrepreneurship, and tapping into their creative talents.
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