Daisies, the restaurant turned gourmet weekend market found in Logan Square, is getting ready to expand with a larger, full-time market at 2375 Milwaukee Ave.
Owner/ executive chef Joe Frillman launched the vegetable-focused and pasta-driven restaurant in June 2017. Then when the pandemic hit the world, Daisies was forced to pivot into something more practical like most restaurants. As a result, Frillman switched to a weekend-only gourmet market, and it was a hit, even after businesses returned to normal operations. Instead of returning to the restaurant blueprint that focuses on high-level midwestern cooking, he plans to open a much larger market in either late February or early March 2023, according to Eater Chicago.
“The first day we opened up [the weekend market], there was a line down the block in the pouring rain,” Frillman tells Chicago Mag. “Mick Klug brought fruit, my brother brought vegetables, other farmers brought meat and cheese, and chefs from the industry brought other products.”
The new 5,500-square-foot space will feature a dining room, espresso bar, pastry counter, cafe, and grab-and-go section. Frillman plans to eventually start a Community Supported Agriculture program and a lunch program at the new market as well. All of this gives Frillman and his staff an opportunity for new experiences that aren’t often found in the restaurant industry.
“Our staff did everything; they stocked shelves, worked checkout, it wasn’t just being a cook anymore,” Frillman tells Chicago Mag. “That opened up a lot of options; people got to dabble in things they don’t normally get to do. You learn different skill sets; cooks who have no guest interaction are selling people stuff at a register. If we have a market or a CSA, it becomes a neighborhood place where you see the same people and their families. It’s community building, and it’s really inspiring.”
