Always Andersonville: The Podcast

In our annual Holiday Variety Special and final episode of 2020, we bring you Holiday messages of cheer from our small business community, along with a special message from Santa himself at Urban Pooch , songs by Bree Gordon , Lakeside Pride and Kimberly Lawson , the process of making Glögg with Simon's Tavern owner Scott Martin, and our favorite reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas read by...

In this special bonus episode, Laura and David chat with Gregory Perrine, founder of Partisan  an online gifting platform created in response to the pandemic. Partisan takes the guess work out of gifting by combining an eye for design with Chicago Artisan created items. Their goal is to make you look good while supporting local artisans and businesses. We were lucky enough to partner with Gregory...

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Ludwig Defrenne of Andersonville Fine Foods, Chef Jasmine Sheth of Tasting India , Lauren Ocello of Twidley Bits , and Lindsey Anderson of Uvae Kitchen & Wine Bar . This team of individuals has joined forces this holiday season to bring you a Holiday Retail Market featuring great finds from local neighborhood vendors at Uvae every Saturday and Sunday in De...

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by LaManda Joy, president and founder of City Grange . City Grange is a social enterprise garden center working to promote social justice and the good food movement while aiming to provide an authentic, rooted, friendly, functional and community-building experience to their customers. Right now, City Grange is in full-on holiday mode, selling Christmas Trees...

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Dr. Andrew Lee and certified veterinary technician Samantha Rogers of Heal Veterinary Clinic . Under the ownership of Dr. Derrick Landini, Heal Veterinary Clinic has been providing exceptional and compassionate pet care to families in the Chicagoland area since 2011. Heal is a full service clinic within the Andersonville membership that serves dogs, cats,...

This week, Laura and Joelle wing-it for a featured roundup episode about everything to expect for the 2020 Holidays with Intention programming in Andersonville, with many "events" happening this season online. If you'd rather not listen to us talk through the highlights, but want to investigate for yourself, head to our Holiday Programming landing page at andersonville.org/holiday-events . 

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Stephanie Edwards, manager of eCommerce, Social Media and Marketing and Lizzy Selzer, Andersonville store assistant manager of ENJOY An Urban General Store. ENJOY is full of fun, funky and functional items for all your gift giving needs. From youngsters to oldsters, hipsters to geeksters, sisters to brothers, mothers to fathers, rockers to rollers; anyone...

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Charles Williams, General Manager of George’s Ice Cream and Sweets , a comfy neighborhood ice cream shop serving classic & unique flavors, sundaes, coffee and more. For that nostalgic feel of an old ice-cream parlor, spoons that change color, waffle cones pints to-go, come visit George’s at 5306 N. Clark.

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Nancye Rivera, owner of Plus Bookkeeping Services , where the goal is to help small businesses understand their financials and use them as a planning tool to grow their business. Tune in for an inspiring and motivational conversation with Nancye all about planning for success, even in the middle of a pandemic. 

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Seth Boustead and Christy Bennett of Access Contemporary Music otherwise known as ACM. Located in nearby Ravenswood at 1718 W Wilson, ACM is dedicated to integrating musical creativity into everyday life. They do so by presenting the music of living composers at the highest quality, fostering musical creativity in their storefront music schools and through...

This week, Joelle & David are joined by our friends at Great Lakes Clinical Trials: Steve Satek, President and Founder, Amber Holst, Director of Operations, and Dr. Manish Jain, one of the Principal Investigators at Great Lakes Clinical Trials. Dr. Jain has been leading COVID-19 trials at Great Lakes, and is a board-certified Rheumatologist. All three have returned to the podcast to talk about the...

This week, Laura and Heather are joined by Scott and Jill Freeman of Bryn Mawr Jewelry, Co . Bryn Mawr Jewelry is a luxury diamond jewelry house known for its exceptional fine jewelry and timeless designs. Their exquisite pieces showcase rare diamonds and gemstones, brought to life through distinguished craftsmanship with uncompromising attention to detail. Having relocated to Andersonville in Feb...

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by social media sherpa, motivational math tutor, speaker, connector, and reality competition show fan, Shaily Hakimian . Shaily started doing social media for her hobby community in high school on MySpace. Now she guides businesses on how to stay top of mind with their community and referral network using social media. We connected with Shaily recently for tw...

This week, Laura and David (yes, David!) host our first “in conversation with” episode, welcoming back Michael Bransford, owner of Vincent Restaurant in conversation with friend and business neighbor Johanna VanDorf, owner of Defloured: A Gluten Free Bakery . Avid #AlwaysAndersonville fans will remember that Michael was our first guest ever for Episode 1 of this podcast, and we are excited to have...

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Karin Moen Abercrombie and Emily England of the Swedish American Museum to get an update on how the Museum has been handling virtual programming and events and in-person visits due to COVID-19. Karin, who has joined us on the podcast before, is the Executive Director of this beloved institution and community hub in the heart of Andersonville, and Emily as...

This week, Laura, Heather and Joelle are joined by Ann Kienzle, owner of *play toys, books & gifts which opened in the former Toys Et Cetera space this past March. With locations in Logan Square and Lincoln Park, the Andersonville location marks the third neighborhood for *play. With more than 20 years of experience in the toy industry, Ann took her love for community and a reverence for childhood...

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Chef Kelley Davison of Bettie Lou’s in Andersonville. Focusing on American cuisine with an urban twist, Chef Kelley’s menu pulls inspiration from European, Asian and Island dishes. A fan favorite, the Soul Rolls, have made their appearance at several Andersonville events now, including last year’s Farmers Market Dinner and Taste of Andersonville. Chef Kell...

This week, Heather and Joelle are joined by Lisa Beacom, General Manager of School of Rock Andersonville , which opens soon in the neighborhood. All of their music programs for kids, teens, and adults are designed to help students gain amazing musical proficiency, and to get students performing in a band. Students can take virtual, one-on-one music instruction from the comfort of their homes with...

This week, Laura & Heather are joined by Baird & Warner Real Estate Broker, Dan Nelson . Dan loves houses and has spent the last twenty years running a real estate company with his wife. Dan uses negotiating skills, market analysis, and his vast understanding of buying and selling property to help people find homes they will love.

This week, Laura and Joelle are joined by Mindy Friedler, co-owner of FIYA . FIYA, which reflects the owner’s love of wood fire, bread and baking, opened quietly in June at 5419 N Clark and is a melting pot of Israeli cuisine, with influences from the Middle East, Europe, and the Mediterranean.

After an extended hiatus, we return today with our departing Andersonville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sara Dinges whose last day with the organization is today, Wednesday July 29. Sara started with Andersonville in 2008 working as the Managing Director of the Andersonville Development Corporation (now ASCA), a position she held until 2011 and then returned to Andersonville at the helm...

We hope you have enjoyed our week of Gabbin’ with Stew episodes, and today we bring you a quick roundup of what to expect for Andersonville at Home , our first ever virtual Midsommarfest and fundraiser tonight! RSVP to Andersonville at Home on Facebook .

This week in honor of  Andersonville at Home: A Midsommarfest Experience & Fundraiser  on Friday, June 12, we turn over our podcasting duties to Stew Jamesson of  Stewpendous Productions . Founded in Chicago, Stewpendous Productions is fundamentally centered around providing joy, laughs, and fun for everyone through personalized experiences. Stew is currently booking Zoom Trivia parties for your f...

This week in honor of  Andersonville at Home: A Midsommarfest Experience & Fundraiser  on Friday, June 12, we turn over our podcasting duties to Stew Jamesson of  Stewpendous Productions . Founded in Chicago, Stewpendous Productions is fundamentally centered around providing joy, laughs, and fun for everyone through personalized experiences. Stew is currently booking Zoom Trivia parties for your f...

This week in honor of Andersonville at Home: A Midsommarfest Experience & Fundraiser on Friday, June 12, we turn over our podcasting duties to Stew Jamesson of Stewpendous Productions . Founded in Chicago, Stewpendous Productions is fundamentally centered around providing joy, laughs, and fun for everyone through personalized experiences. Stew is currently booking Zoom Trivia parties for your frie...