The Business of Food with Steve Alexander

Residents of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood knew they were living in a food desert because they had only three grocery stores. Then one closed, leaving just two sources of fresh food compared with 23 liquor stores. Now, a brick and mortar store, operated by high school students, has been built at 423 N. Laramie on the […]

There are many great reasons to go to the Illinois State Fair: The carnival, the grandstand concerts, the food, the 4-H and FFA exhibits, and … the Piglet Parade. In the audio clip below, Illinois Pork Producers Association Pork Ambassador Jobeth Matli tells WGN’s Steve Alexander all about the 10-day old baby pigs and their […]

“Sarah Mac,” as her friends call her, is a Board Certified Physical Therapist who practiced at the University of Chicago until recently deciding to go back to school for another degree. In her spare time, she bakes, and is known for her version of the French macroon. (Her Instagram handle is a nod to that: […]

Dick’s Last Resort long reigned as one of the rowdiest bar/restaurants along the Chicago River, proudly calling itself “the place your mama warned you about.” It encouraged women customers to leave their underwear behind, which were strung up across the bar. Dick’s closed, Legal Seafoods claimed the space. “All the underwear is gone, and there […]

The USDA is out with its forecast for food prices in 2025, and if it becomes a reality (it is a forecast and we know what happens to forecasts sometimes) it will be a relief: a .7% increase in average food prices at the grocery store. Compare that with the run-up in “food-at-home” prices — […]

More than 100 vendors, including some of Chicago’s iconic restaurants, will be serving food at the 2024 Lollapalooza in Grant Park. From pizza to Italian Beef to BBQ to tacos to waffles, plus desserts and drinks of all kinds (see lists below), concert goers will be in no danger of going hungry or thirsty. Back […]

When Genesis Winter was watching “The Great British Bake Off” years ago, she wondered why there wasn’t a similar competition for amateur bakers in America. So, she and a friend put together the “Chicago’s Best Baker” competition. In the audio clip below, Genesis tells WGN’s Steve Alexander the event, which began in 2018 and took […]

You can find grapes in the grocery store year round, but fresh from the vine California grapes can only be found in the summer and fall. In the audio clip below, farmer George Matoian tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that 99% of the grapes produced in the United States come from California and harvest in the […]

In the 91-year history of Whitey’s Ice Cream in Moline, Illinois, Sweet Corn Ice Cream has never been one of its flavors. Until now. In the audio clip below, Annika Tunberg, vice-president at Whitey’s Ice Cream, and a third-generation family member to run the chain, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander how the concoction came about and, […]

Shouts of “Blasphemy!” followed by the loud clanging of a bell are what happens when a customer orders ketchup on their hot dog at Michiganders Windy City Diner. Despite being 150 miles away from Chicago, the family-owned and operated diner brings an authentic taste of Chicago to Windy City transplants in southwest Michigan. In the […]

It seemed odd to WGN’s Steve Alexander that the dairy case of U.S. supermarkets contained so much butter and cheese made in Ireland. So, he asked Kate Saul, vice president of marketing at Evanston-based Ornua Foods North America, how it happened. In the audio clip below, Saul says the Kerrygold story began more than 30 […]

A farmer — let’s call him Old McDonald, because we do not know his name or much else about him other than he farms in Kentucky — was prepping a field to plant corn. He had plowed and disked and as he was walking the field, expecting he might find an arrowhead or some other […]

In the audio clip below, Amundsen High School teacher Andrew Breen tells WGN’s Steve Alexander dozens of students have turned out for the Seeds of Change Garden Club since it was started last fall. The school has a huge campus of mostly lawn that needed some TLC. Students, with a variety of reasons for joining […]

When Prairie Farmer Magazine posted notice of its “Favorite Farm Dog Contest,” Devin Bollman and Dalton Johnston decided they’d send in photos and a story about Kay, their one-and-a-half year old border collie. After all, she had become so good at rounding up chickens and cattle on the couple’s Cass County farm where they raise […]

Chicagoans have long loved their Italian Beef and the iconic sandwich gained worldwide popularity from the TV series “The Bear.” Years before the TV show debuted, a suburban chain, Beef Shack, upped the ante with its Cheezy Beef version of the sandwich served on fresh garlic bread buns. In the audio clip below, Beef Shack CEO […]

Sumaiya Vahora and Humera Roaf were teaching at the same Chicago school when they started sharing their dreams. Sumaiya wanted to own a bakery. Humera wanted to own a business that gives back to the community, especially women who were trying to enter or re-enter the workforce. Sumaiya began baking custom cakes at home while […]

The Instagrammable tulips in the medians of Michigan Avenue are there by design. The chief designer is Kris Sorich, the Senior Landscape Architect at CDOT, the Chicago Department of Transportation. In the audio clip below, she tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that each July, she decides what colors of tulips she wants to see bloom the […]

Farming is hard. Starting a farm from scratch is nearly impossible. Zemua Baptista dreamed of farming — something his father did in his native Angola. He says he “carpet farmed” as a boy, dreaming someday of being a real farmer. A state champion wrestler in Friend, Nebraska, where his father was a Methodist minister, Baptista […]

Vivent Health / TPAN is hosting its annual fundraiser Dining Out For Life Chicago on Thursday, April 25. In the audio clip below, Lorraine Hayes of TPAN tells WGN’s Steve Alexander about some of the 20 restaurants who have committed a percentage of their profits to TPAN, which helps people living with HIV to stay housed, get their […]

Chicago’s and WGN’s very own Orion “Big O” Samuelson is marking a milestone birthday on March 31st. It was 90 years ago on that date that “Little O” bounced into the world. He chose a spring blizzard to make his entrance on his family’s dairy farm in southwestern Wisconsin. The doctor wasn’t able to get […]

When Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid announced on a podcast that Taylor Swift had made homemade Pop Tarts for the offensive line, the marketing team at Kellanova that promotes the brand knew they had been handed a gift. In the audio clip below, Sarah Reinecke, VP of Marketing, Portable Wholesome Snacks / Pop-Tarts […]

Joe Reckinger said it’s the most wind he’s ever seen in his 66 years on the family farm west of Batavia on Seavey Road. On the night of February 27, 2024, what was later determined to be an F1 tornado flattened a barn built in 1882 when Joe’s great-great grandfather started the farm. Joe and […]