Bringing a Pete’s Fresh Market to the Chicago South Suburbs I can recall reading about as far back as 2017. FASt forward almost 8 years later, just a few weeks ago, I figured out what was so sought after about Pete’s.

The Pete’s Fresh Market in Orland Park is the first of the four that have been slated to open in the Chicago Southland as we call it. It’s opening day was January 28th, 2025 and my first visit was during that opening week— my first time stepping into a Pete’s Fresh Market. Free bread was being handed out to the first something-number of shoppers at the entrance. Each day that opening week, Pete’s gave a different free thing. And that was just my first hit of dopamine from the store.

The name Pete’s belies the wide variety of international fare it carried. The sheer volume of never-seen-in-American-stores ingredients and products from such disparates parts of the globe left me feeling gaga. Every aisle kept my eyes wide like a kid in a candy store. I found a Slavic candy that I hadn’t seen in 25 years, called Kiki. I found pastries I have only ever seen in France. Water from Palestine. Dried flowers (which helped me with a project for my daughter’s class Valentine’s Day party). The first trip up and down the aisles, I saw items untraditional for a grocery—things I can image a Wiccan store or apothecary carring. Seasonings for those HelloFresh recipes that you have trouble tracking down, like Tabil (a Tunisian spice blend). I could list everything, but in short.. I think that Pete’s would wet that appetite for diversity in flavors and nourishment, of those afflicted with occasional pangs of wanderlust, such as yours truly.

Pete’s Market #19 – Orland Park

Orland Park, Palos Heights, Tinley Park, and New Lenox (next year) will all have a Pete’s Fresh Market of their own by the end of 2026. The pandemic set back the construction of many new buildings and structures, Pete’s Fresh Markets among them.

How Old Is the Pete’s Fresh Market Brand?

Pete’s Fresh Market began as a produce stand on Chicago’s South Side in the early 1970s now a fully grown grocery chain — with fresh fruit and vegetables still hand-picked and delivered daily according to their website and marketing.

What would make one of my domestic dreams come true is a little grocery store for each culture in the world, within a 25 mninute drive. But I’m happy to say that in my observation, small ethnic shops catering to those of Asian, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, and African heritage have been popping up quite a bit in the last 7+years I’ve noticed. For a long time here in the Chicago suburbs, Angelo Caputo’s was the only one of its kind that offered World cuisines. Now Pete’s Fresh Market makes two major multicultural grocery retailers in our area, but takes variety a bit further.

I hope to see you in the aisles. Happy grocery shopping!