Family, community all part of downtown Glen Ellyn’s new treasure, Blackberry Market

GLEN ELLYN — When Anna Davidson was young, she would go blackberry picking with her grandma in Arkansas and then use the blackberries to make jam and pie.

Through these experiences, she developed a love for food, and now the Glen Ellyn community will have an opportunity to share in that love through her new market and cafe, Blackberry Market.

“We took that story, and that was the centerpiece of the name,” said Anna’s husband, Bob, who led the restaurant’s branding and marketing efforts as creative producer at strategic design firm Rule29 in Geneva. “We wanted to tie that name into the concept for the space.”

While the exact date is not yet decided, Blackberry Market will open soon at Main Street and Hillside Avenue in the former Craig’s Pharmacy and Bells and Whistle space in downtown Glen Ellyn, and the restaurant has been both a family and community effort.

Anna and Bob have lived in Glen Ellyn since 1997 and now raise their three children here. They’ve thought about opening a restaurant on and off for the last five to seven years, and during the last two years, the thoughts became more serious as Anna started her own catering business, Bob said.

Anna had been working for another catering company for seven years before going out on her own, and eventually she realized she really wanted her own space — a place where she could have her own artistic expressions, she said.

The community has played a large role in making this happen for the Davidsons, who raised more than $26,000 through an online grassroots campaign.

“We really wanted it to be a community experience right from the beginning,” Bob said. “We want this space to be for the community, and we want the community to be involved.”

The Davidsons used Indiegogo to launch the online campaign. The Blackberry Market Indiegogo page provides those interested with examples of amounts they can donate and the perks associated with each level of giving, including apparel, gift cards and free food.

Bob said they were blown away by the amount of support they received.

“We’ve had a significant amount of love from the community,” he said.

The Davidsons said they wanted to give the Glen Ellyn community something that appears to be lacking in the downtown area: a fast-casual, non-chain restaurant.

“We wanted something that was unique to the community but casual and approachable,” Bob said.

The cafe will include a variety of soups, sandwiches, salads and baked goods.

“Everything will be handcrafted, seasonal,” Anna said.

The cafe also will offer a daily dinner-to-go option for two that will change Monday through Friday.
One night could be grilled salmon and the next, manicotti, Anna said.

Recipes — which include ones from Anna’s catering company, family and some from Blackberry Market staff — will use local ingredients whenever possible, she said.

And Anna’s artistic expressions extend beyond the culinary to include other choices she’s been able to make as owner.

For example, staff aprons are being made by workers from Re:new in Glen Ellyn, which employs refugee women living in the area. The cafe also will be decorated with blankets made by Hand and Cloth workers in Bangladesh. Both the aprons and blankets will be available to purchase in the market.

The market will feature a variety of food products as well, such as jams and crackers, and other items used for hosting and entertaining, including screen-printed napkins and towels.

“Just a few things that will be fun, and you can’t get anywhere else,” Anna said.

The cafe also will be decorated with watercolor paintings created by Anna’s grandma.

Although at 92 years old, her grandma does not entirely realize the homage Blackberry Market is paying to the experiences they shared blackberry picking, the rest of Anna’s family does.

“They’re all part of it, too,” she said.