Oak Park Now

Old Soul at 40 Acres To Host Thanksgiving Food Drive

2009-11-26T00:17:11Z

Old Soul Co. is hosting the "Soul of the Soul" Food Donation Drive on Thanksgiving Day at it's newest location in Oak Park. The local coffee company is slated to open its doors to the neighborhood in early 2010 with it's third retail location. Old Soul will replace the now closed Starbuck's that once anchored the 40 Acres Art Gallery complex when it was remodeled back in 2003.

According to the company's website, One of the guiding principles of Old Soul from the beginning has always been "to be better tomorrow than we are today"; in our minds, this principle includes everything from our own individual self improvement to our overall product improvement. We recognize how these principles have shaped both ourselves and our business and have made them both successful; along those lines, we have started a community outreach program called 'The Soul of the Soul".

With Soul of the Soul we will be planning monthly volunteer projects within our communtiy in which any Old Soul employee, customer or client can participate. All projects will be based as locally as possible in order to maximize our influence on our immediate community. Old Soul will try to provide transportation and arrange carpools whenever feasible.

All are invited, FREE T-shirts, coffee, pastries & yummy food from Rick Mahan of The Waterboy!

When: Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Thanksgiving Day
Where: Old Soul at 40 Acres in Oak Park, Broadway @ 35th Street
When: 12:00 - 3:00 PM
What: "Soul of the Soul" Food Donation Drive

Old Soul Co. Holds Open House In Oak Park

2009-10-17T00:01:08Z

Old Soul Co., a local roaster, baker and coffeehouse currently operating at two locations in midtown, announced it will be opening its third location at the 40 Acres Art Gallery and Cultural Center in Oak Park. The community and local media are invited to an Open House, where the Mayor and local civic and business leaders help Old Soul Co. celebrate the growth and renewal of a vibrant and vital neighborhood.

With a proven track record of investment and commitment to the community they live in, Jason Griest and Tim Jordan are proud to bring the Old Soul Co. brand to another corner of the central city that they love and admire; with renewed investment of time, energy and financial resources, these owners are excited about all that the Oak Park community has to offer, and are thankful to St. Hope Development for sharing in their vision of creating "THE" community gathering spot for the area.

WHO: Owners – Tim Jordan and Jason Griest
Mayor Kevin Johnson
Council member Lauren Hammond
Oak Park Business Association President Terre Johnson
Community members and supporters

WHAT: Open House; Meet-n-Greet; Coffee and Pastry Giveaway

WHEN: MONDAY, October 19, 2009 at 11:00am – 4:00pm

WHERE: 3546 3rd Avenue, 40 Acres Art Gallery and Cultural Center (former site of Starbucks Coffee Co.)

Guerrilla Art - To Be Continued...

2009-05-05T17:45:50Z

Shrouded in a bit of secrecy, it was started late last night at about 10pm. The guerrilla artists came in with little more than a flashlight, ladder and a can of blue spray paint. I contemplated approaching the duo to see what they were up to, but instead allowed them to continue working as it appeared time was of the essence. Rain was approaching and they appeared to be working very quickly. I watched them for a few minutes before leaving them to their work.

To my delight, I walked over this morning to discover the beautifully outlined beginnings of a large mural.

It appears to depict 4 figures total, 3 females and 1 male. One of the figure stands alone and appears to be spraying someone or something while the other three are closer to one another.

This is the positive change I hope to see in this neighborhood; Guerrilla Art, not gang tags. Thank you!

To see the progress, visit OakParkNow for mural updates.

DOC Proposal: Eliminate Design Review - Oak Park Neighborhood Assoc.

2009-03-31T19:21:56Z

The Oak Park Neighborhood Association's next meeting (April 2, 5:30, Oak Park Community Center, 3425 MLK Jr. Blvd) will include a presentation by Brian Holloway and other DOC and City Staff discussing the proposal to eliminate the Design Review Commission.

We are inviting other Neighborhood Associations, groups and communities to attend as to get a good cross section of our community as a whole and to document the response. The idea is to bring this back to the city council, showing the public outcry for the entire Design Review process.

Our objective is that we get as much of the surrounding communities to show up as possible and to ensure that our response is not misrepresented by either city staff or DOC members when they return to council with their report.

The meeting will be on April 2 at 5:30 pm, Oak Park Community Center, 3425 MLK Jr. Blvd.