CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The grand opening of a new grocery store in Humboldt Park gave residents of the West Side community a fresh sense of optimism on Wednesday.
They cut the ribbon on the new Central Park Fresh Market, located at 3552 W. Grand Ave., and customers came pouring in.
Owner Dimitri Bousis — whom everyone calls “Jimmy” — said this store will replace his older, smaller store in the neighborhood and will be a boost for the community.
“It’s been 37 years, and until yesterday I wasn’t sure if I’m moving to this location,” he said. “But after facing all of this today, it’s a blessed day, and I’m so happy we’re here to give back to the community what they deserve.”
Bousis said he was thankful for the opportunity this country has given him.
“[I] came from Greece with a dream in 1969 to make $10,000 and go back to Greece, and I guess I’m still working on it,” he said.
Raselle Marero has lived in the area for years.
“It’s very important for the community that we have this place,” Marero said. “He does have a lot of healthy food for everybody.”
Local Ald. Jesse Fuentes (26th) called Wednesday a “beautiful day.”
“To be able to bring such a grocery store at this scale, this size, with the amount of produce and healthy groceries that our community can have,” Fuentes said. “It’s huge for the west side of Humboldt Park.”
Former Ald. Roberto Maldonado and Dick Mell were also in attendance.
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