PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2022

a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, while a short order grill will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. A coffee bar is tomirror Starbucks. Confections from the in-house bakery will include sweet potato pie, caramel cake and cheesecake. Food prep also will include Alice’s Famous Jerk Chicken, named for Brown’s wife, who died unexpectedly last year at age 50. The chicken, to be sold prepackaged or for meals on-site, was her specialty. Profits will go to programs supporting single moms – a nod to Alice Brown, who at Victory Christian ran the Women’s Ministry. “Her focus was helping single moms overcome barriers,” Chuck Brown said. In addition to employing about 20 workers, Harvest will assist the community in other ways. Inside the store, area vendors will be able to set up shop, such as for hair and beauty products. “We want to help small businesses grow,” said Brown Ultimately, he sees Harvest as the anchor for other commercial investment in the neighborhood. With no other investors, Harvest will have no pressure to turn a profit, which will help keep prices low. However, Brown said he hopes to make enough money to start a not-for-profit business to address the lack of new housing in South Peoria. “We plan to reinvest in the community,” Brown said. “We want to buy some of these homes, tear themdown and build affordable housing.” Right now, though, Brown will be happy just to see the registers busywith the soundof customers buying groceries. Sowill neighborhood residents, many of whomhave popped by the store to check on his progress, eager for a supermarket to call their own. “I thank God for that,” he said. “It’s a community store. It makes me feel special to be a part of it.” Phil Luciano is a senior writer/ columnist for Peoria Magazine and content contributor to public television station WTVP

Rev. Brown discusses plans for the Harvest Supermarket & Grill with his daughters

In 2018, Kroger closed its location at Madison Park Shopping Center, just west of South Peoria. The decision rendered the 61605 zip code as an official food desert. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a fooddesert by twomaincriteria: • The poverty rate is greater than or equal to 20 percent of the population, or the median household income does not exceed 80 percent of the statewide or metro rate. The 61605 zip code qualifies in both ways, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: Its poverty rate is 41 percent, while the median household income is $23,107, or about 33 percent of the statewide average of $68,428 and 40 percent of the Peoria wide average of $60,094. • At least 500 people, or 33 percent of an urban area, are more than a mile from the nearest supermarket or large grocery store. The closest such stores – Haddad’s West Peoria Market, the Bartonville Kroger and the East Peoria Walmart – are farther than a mile away from most South Side residents. Last summer, Brown decided to confront that situation, despite a résumé that didn’t exactly suggest the experience necessary to do so. Brown, 60, is the founder and senior pastor of Victory Christian Church, 603 W. Nebraska Ave., where he draws no salary. He owns a cleaning firm called Miracle Maids, while his Job Resources Fair business coordinates hiring events in the area.

His supermarket history? He worked a short stint as a cashier/clerk de cades ago. But his lack of know-how paled when compared to his ambition. He decided to provide the South Side not just with a supermarket, but one that would rival – inside and out – those in the area’s tonier spots. Standing inside Harvest, Brown said, “If you see a store open in Dunlap, it’ll look the same as here.” One of the first orders of the struc tural rehab was removing an old drop ceiling. Not only did that mean paint ing the re-exposed ceiling, but re working the wiring. All told, the transformation of the leased building, plus equipment, would run about $600,000. The effort involved no government help and just one grant: $28,600 from Ameren for energy efficient lighting. Plus, the Subway franchisee Dave Hanna, in moving from the Heights to Peoria, gave Brown $40,000worth of food-prep equipment. The grocery selection wi l l be streamlined to keep costs down for Harvest as well as his customers. “We’re going to have the essentials,” he said. “At other stores, you might have a choice of 25 ketchups. Here, we’ll have maybe two. “You get in, you get out, you save money.” Brown plans to open Harvest in late June or early July. The hours will be 9

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