Carnival Grocery, 824 S. Oak Park Ave., offers an intimate, in-person shopping experience, but busy schedules and Covid-19 concerns have customers clamoring for affordable personal shopping and grocery delivery options. Responding to customer desires, the fiercely independent grocery store is introducing a new way to shop.
A new user-friendly website and personal shopping app will help get groceries to residents as efficiently as possible. Carnival’s new e-commerce services are designed to be more affordable than Instacart. Carnival’s staff will personally fill orders meeting a $35 minimum and local delivery is available for $8. (The app is available via Google Play and the App Store)
“The Carnival team and I are really excited to be launching the app and new website. We try to always listen to our customers, and felt this was needed, especially considering how shopping for groceries has changed over the last year,” said Arthur Paris, owner of Carnival Grocery. “These additions are also part of our efforts to ensure Carnival is as strong and stable as possible in anticipation of a second Pete’s Fresh Market opening in Oak Park.”
As recently as Jan. 28, Paris called on Carnival supporters to implore Oak Park’s village board to delay its final vote to approve the second Pete’s Market set to begin construction on Madison Street. Paris argues a financial impact study should be completed prior to the final vote as Carnival and other independent merchants will likely be put out of business because of the chain store’s arrival.
“It has come to light that a proper analysis was not completed to assess the financial impact of a second Pete’s Fresh on surrounding small businesses like Carnival,” said Paris via Facebook. “We implore the village to postpone the final vote until such an analysis is completed.”
If Pete’s application is approved by the village board, the grocery store will be built on the 600 and 700 blocks of Madison Street, between Oak Park and Wesley Avenues—the site of a now demolished Foley Rice auto dealership building.
Paris anticipates the board will review and vote on the Pete’s application in February. Wednesday Journal reached out to Craig Failor, village planner, to inquire about when the Pete’s development project is scheduled to go before the village board. Failor responded, “nothing confirmed as of yet.”
Carnival Grocery’s app is live now and delivery slots are available daily.
