Forty Acres Fresh Market has ‘something for everyone’ 

Whether you’re looking for $3.49 Heinz gravy, $2.29 Food Club gravy, or a McCormick gravy mix for $1.49, there’s an option for you at Forty Acres Fresh Market.  

The independent grocery store opened at 5713 W. Chicago Ave. in Austin on Sept. 14 and held its grand opening Sept. 27, when locals and public officials gathered to celebrate the years of work that went into launching the full-service grocery store with a wide range of selections.  

“We are servicing people with different tastes, with different budgets, and we’re trying to make sure there are options for everyone,” Liz Abunaw, founder of the market, told Austin Weekly News. While the store stocks name brands like Arm and Hammer and Betty Crocker, it also sells private label brands and local goods. Forty Acres has standard tissues and Puffs Plus Lotion with Vicks, a favorite of Abunaw’s. 

Abunaw has curated Forty Acres down to the music she plays for shoppers. She’s created several playlists to rotate through, including ones full of 2000s pop, 2000s R&B and hip hop, and songs that came out when Abunaw was in college — “Different vibes at different times for people,” she said.  

And while a range of groceries offer “something for everyone,” Abunaw said she hopes customers get the most out of their experience as a whole.   

“I want them to feel like they are valued. I want them to enjoy their grocery shop. I want them to discover new products. I want people to run into their neighbors, maybe meet cute at the watermelon bin,” Abunaw said. “I want this to be the ‘Cheers’ of grocery.”  

A grocery story years in the making  

Looking back, the initial spark for Forty Acres came years ago when Abunaw got off the bus in Austin and couldn’t find an ATM for cash, or a pharmacy or grocery store to get cash back, within a mile. 

“I think that was the catalytic event that made me look at this city differently,” Abunaw said. “I took for granted that, if you live on a commercial corridor, you should be able to find certain things,” like a grocery store, pharmacy or bank. After living in Chicago neighborhoods with less than a 20-minute walk from a grocery store, Abunaw said spending time in Austin crystallized the accessibility she had to resources like fresh food. 

“It changed my perspective, and that eventually led to what could be possible,” Abunaw said.  

Forty Acres Fresh Market is named after “40 acres and a mule,” reparations that former slaves were promised after the Civil War, but which were never fulfilled.  

Abunaw launched her first popup produce market in Austin in January 2018, then started weekly and daily delivery services. In 2020, Abunaw secured the building at 5713 W. Chicago Ave., a 70-year-old structure that used to be a Salvation Army. Construction to rehab the building began in Nov. 2023.  

Though Abunaw originally planned to open a produce market, after her experience with popups and delivery, and assessing the location and size of the new building, she decided to launch a full-service grocery store. She has a background in grocery retail, working in sales at General Mills, but had to learn the ropes of operating a store. 

“In the two weeks I’ve done this, I’ve learned so much more than I’ve learned the seven years before I got it open,” Abunaw said ahead of Forty Acres’ grand opening. 

When Abunaw was considering the best chance for Forty Acres to make money as a comprehensive grocery store around 2021 or 2022, she brought up the idea of selling alcohol with Ald. Chris Taliaferro. There’s a moratorium on liquor licenses in the area, but at a City Council meeting last week, an ordinance was introduced to committee asking for a temporary partial lifting of the moratorium on Chicago Avenue from N. Waller Avenue to Austin Boulevard for one year. 

“Alcohol was always in our plan,” Abunaw said. “Full-service stores in Chicago have alcohol. Even non-full-service stores have alcohol,” she added. “It makes sense.” 

Block Club Chicago reported that, if approved, alcohol products inside Forty Acres are likely to span half an aisle, about 80% will be locked in cabinets, and Forty Acres won’t sell single-serving beverages.  

Forty Acres was funded by a variety of sources, including a $2.5 million grant from the Chicago Recovery Plan, finances from Westside Health Authority in partnership with the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, and money from state grants and private foundations. Abunaw said State Rep. Camille Lilly played a large role in securing funding for Forty Acres.  

“We weren’t saddled with a ton of debt in order to do this, which helps keep the rent for the store manageable, especially in those critical first months and even couple years where you’re getting your footing and you’re building your customer base,” Abunaw said. There were “contributions across so many different levels of government and community to get this store built.” 

Forty Acres Fresh Market is open at 5713 W. Chicago Ave. daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.