Ricketts Family Announces Community and Retail Partners for "Park at Wrigley" Development

CHICAGO, March 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Park at Wrigley will debut next week as Wrigleyville's true town square and play host to community festivals, farmers markets, music and dining throughout the year. Initial events and offerings were announced today to coincide with the Park at Wrigley's website launch at www.parkatwrigley.com. A star-studded culinary event, farmers markets, music programs and family movie nights lead the list of signature events and free community activities available this spring and summer. 

The Ricketts family will be joined by community and retail partners and the Lakeview community at the Park at Wrigley ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, April 10, at 10 a.m., prior to the World Champion Chicago Cubs' home opener later that evening.

Hickory Street Capital, a real estate development company owned by the Ricketts family, designed and built the Park at Wrigley and office and retail building adjacent to Wrigley Field to provide a year-round, family-friendly gathering place for neighbors, Cubs fans and visitors.

"The opening of the Park at Wrigley is a major step toward my family's goal of being a good neighbor," said Hickory Street Capital Chairman Tom Ricketts. "The park is an inviting destination where neighborhood families and visitors can gather for celebratory activities whether the Cubs are at home or on the road."

The first signature culinary event, "Craft and Cuisine," features two days of food tastings, beer and wine pairings, live music and chef demonstrations from some of Chicago's most celebrated chefs, May 13-14. Tickets are on sale now at www.parkatwrigley.com.

Several unique retail tenants will anchor the Park at Wrigley development, including a Starbucks store with a Reserve coffee bar, a two-story tavern-style restaurant, a new flagship Cubs Store, a Jostens retail jewelry concept, and a viewing area presented by Motorola for the Chicago Cubs' 2016 World Championship Trophy.

Starbucks, a longtime neighbor in the Lakeview community, expressed the company's excitement to be included in this new community development.

"Starbucks has been a part of the Wrigleyville community for more than 20 years," said Starbucks Vice President of Operations Dennis Brockman. "We're honored to be a part of this momentous occasion in the neighborhood and bring guests a new kind of coffee experience."

The Park at Wrigley will host the following initial community events and retail offerings:

Signature Community Events:

• Green City Market at the Park, presented by Crate and Barrel, will bring local, sustainably raised foods to the Park at Wrigley on Thursdays from 4-8 p.m., June 15 through October 26, excluding gamedays. Green City Market, Chicago's largest and first year-round sustainable farmers market, will bring chef demonstrations, Club Sprouts educational programing, composting, and a Link Matching Program along with their sustainable, locally sourced food vendors.
• The legendary Old Town School of Folk Music will host bi-weekly morning and afternoon music programs starting Tuesday, June 13, 2017, including their celebrated Wiggleworms early childhood music education series.
• Lakeview's venerable Music Box Theatre will host six sundown "Movies in the Park" at the Park at Wrigley. Ferris Bueller's Day Off begins the series June 14, followed by The Jungle Book June 28, Rookie of the Year July 12, Ghostbusters July 26 and Sandlot August 9. Additional movies will follow.
• A two-day "Craft and Cuisine" celebration, May 13-14, will offer guests more than 40 craft beer and wine tastings, plus tastes of several chef-driven restaurants coming to the Hickory Street development. The event will feature offerings from renowned Chicago and Lakeview restaurants like Café Tola, Crosby's Kitchen, Girl & the Goat, Honey Butter Fried Chicken, Smoke Daddy, West Town Bakery and Yusho. Chef demos will include Paul Kahan from Big Star, Stephanie Izard from Girl & the Goat, Tony Mantuano and Joe Flamm from Spiaggia, Chris "Tex" Teixeira from West Town Bakery and Matthias Merges from Yusho. The event takes place Saturday, May 13, from 12:30-9 p.m. and Sunday, May 14, from 12:30-4 p.m. Admission to each of the three sessions includes beer and wine tastings with food sold separately. Tickets are on sale now at www.parkatwrigley.com.

Retail, Food and Beverage Offerings:

In addition to public space, programs and community festivals, the Park at Wrigley will be home to recognized national brands as well as unique Chicago retail, food and beverage establishments.

• The Park at Wrigley will feature a Starbucks store with a Reserve coffee bar, bringing together the "third place" experience with the educational aspects of its Seattle Reserve Roastery, its new premium brand featuring rare, small-lot Reserve coffees. In addition to Starbucks' core menu, the store will be centered around an interactive coffee bar where baristas bring the craft of coffee to life through unique brewing techniques such as Clover, pour over, press, chemex, siphon, Black Eagle manual espresso machine and Nitro Cold Brew taps.
• Opening later this summer, an expansive two-story, tavern-style restaurant featuring an outdoor terrace and seating will allow Cubs fans and neighbors to dine in casual elegance year-round just steps from Wrigley Field.
• The Park at Wrigley will be home to the Cubs Store at the Park, a two-story retail shop with 8,400 total square feet featuring authentic Chicago Cubs gear, merchandise and memorabilia. This location will offer items exclusive to the Park at Wrigley.
• Following the Cubs' April 12 Championship Ring Ceremony, Jostens, the "Official Designer of Chicago Cubs World Championship Ring," will open The Jostens Jewelry Store at The Park. The store will provide Cubs fans of all ages with the opportunity to buy a piece of history by offering high-quality, masterfully crafted jewelry, keepsakes and collectibles that commemorate the Cubs' historic 2016 season.
• The Trophy Room presented by Motorola will house the 2016 Chicago Cubs' World Championship Trophy throughout the 2017 regular season. Fans can marvel at the Commissioner's Trophy and take pictures alongside to commemorate the historic World Champion 2016 Chicago Cubs. The Trophy Room opens Thursday, April 13, with hours subject to availability. Fans can visit the Trophy Room page at www.parkatwrigley.com for the latest scheduling updates.

Made possible by a significant investment of private dollars, the Ricketts family is making good on their promise to deliver an attractive year-round destination that will elevate dining, shopping and accommodations for residents and visitors while bringing tremendous economic activity to the neighborhood and the greater Chicagoland area. As the Park at Wrigley and office and retail building near completion, another exciting component of the Ricketts family plan will soon follow. Hotel Zachary, a new boutique lifestyle hotel situated at the corner of Clark and Addison streets, is slated to open in early 2018.

In addition to the planned events and offerings announced today, The Park at Wrigley will be available for public and private event bookings. For additional information on hosting an event at Wrigleyville's new town square, guests may visit www.parkatwrigley.com.

Contact: Dennis Culloton, work: 312.228.4780 / mobile: 630.699.8811

SOURCE Hickory Street Capital

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http://www.parkatwrigley.com