Aldi South Loop, Lily Pad's Acai Bar in Bronzeville & More

Bronzeville is adding a pair of health-focused businesses to its commercial corridor this spring, while grocery giant Aldi prepares to plant a flag in the South Loop and a popular sushi spot faces scrutiny after a city inspection.

Erika Ford-Oliver opened Lily Pad’s Acai Bar at 4256 S. Cottage Grove Ave. last weekend to a crowd of enthusiastic neighbors who turned out for the grand opening. The spot, named for Ford-Oliver’s daughter, offers acai bowls priced between $15 and $20, along with smoothies, matcha, overnight oats and cold-pressed juices sourced from Bronzeville’s own Carver 47 Food and Wellness Market.

The Renaissance Bowl has already emerged as a customer favorite. It combines acai and almond butter with a choice of chocolate or vanilla protein. The Global Bowl, built around avocado and mango, rounds out the heartier options.

Ford-Oliver, who relocated from Chatham to Bronzeville 16 years ago, spent nearly two decades working for Chicago Public Schools before pivoting toward entrepreneurship. Her first steps came during the early years of the pandemic, when she began hiring an ice cream cart to work upscale events tied to her nonprofit, the Color Me Social Foundation.

“I have a nonprofit called the Color Me Social Foundation, and at our garden parties I’d always try to have some nice little add-on, like having Ben and Jerry’s. It was like, ‘Oh, that aligns with what I like,’” Ford-Oliver said.

Lily Pad’s is her second venture. She also operates Lily Pad’s at Foster Beach, a seasonal concession stand that runs every summer.

To mark both the grand opening and Women’s History Month, Ford-Oliver is offering Bronzeville Bliss Bowls for $10. She plans to follow that promotion with a reusable, limited-edition bowl program. Customers who purchase one can bring it back each visit to receive either a dollar off or a free topping. Ford-Oliver is also making wall space available to local artists who want to sell their work, directing interested parties to Lilypadcoldtreats.com.

A few blocks away, Sankofa Bonne Sante has reopened at 4509 S. Indiana Ave., taking over a storefront previously occupied by Munchies Food Mart. Operator Eunice Sanders announced the new location on social media in January. The original Bonne Sante, which operated in Hyde Park, closed about a year ago.

Sanders carried the name and the mission into the new space. Shoppers will find vitamins, supplements and a juice and elixir bar offering smoothies and smoothie bowls. Among the options is a Vitamin C smoothie built on strawberry, pineapple and coconut.

On the grocery side, Aldi is moving into Roosevelt Collection, adding a supermarket option to the South Loop shopping complex. The discount grocer has been expanding aggressively across Chicago in recent years, and the Roosevelt Collection location gives South Loop residents a walkable option for everyday staples. A firm opening date has not been announced.

Not all the neighborhood food news is positive. A well-known South Loop sushi restaurant received a failing grade from city inspectors and has been ordered to pause operations until it addresses the violations. Chicago’s Department of Public Health conducts routine and complaint-triggered inspections at food service establishments throughout the city. Restaurants that fail can be required to close temporarily while they correct whatever conditions drew the citations. The sushi spot’s name and the specific violations cited were part of the inspection record. Customers who relied on it for lunch or a weeknight dinner will need to look elsewhere while the kitchen gets its house in order.

Taken together, the openings in Bronzeville reflect a broader push toward health-oriented food and retail in a neighborhood that has seen steady commercial development over the past several years. Ford-Oliver and Sanders are both longtime community residents building businesses rooted in the neighborhood rather than importing concepts from elsewhere.

Spring in Chicago has historically been a strong season for new restaurant and retail openings. With warmer weather approaching and foot traffic picking back up along South Side commercial strips, both Lily Pad’s and Sankofa Bonne Sante are positioned to catch customers ready to get back outside.