Chicago Produce

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. One morning, while a delivery driver unloaded crates of oranges, he swore he heard someone laughing in an empty aisle. Glancing around, he saw nothing but noticed a strange sweet scent lingering in the air. Curious, he followed the scent deeper into the store, only to discover a little old lady smiling and rearranging bananas with meticulous care. ‘I thought I heard you laughing,’ he said sheepishly. She winked and replied, “Probably just my sense of humor getting along with these fine fruits.”

2. One day, as an old lady pushed her shopping cart down the aisle, she stopped suddenly and exclaimed, ‘I thought I saw a ghost in the produce section!’ A young delivery driver, startled by the commotion, rushed over and asked what was wrong. The lady pointed towards the apples, saying, 'Didn't you see him? A tall man with long hair, picking through the bananas!' Turning around, everyone laughed—there was only a neighborhood cat, casually munching on some produce. 'Oh, that’s just Boris,' someone said. 'He hangs out here every now and then.'

3. At night, when the store closed and employees were cleaning up, someone kept hearing soft laughter coming from the produce section. One night, an old neighbor stopped by to check if everything was okay. Turned out, it was just his cat playing with a stray banana peel. Everyone had a good laugh, and now, whenever anyone hears that mysterious laughter, they know it's probably just Mr. Whiskers causing mischief again.

4. One afternoon, while stocking the produce section, a young employee noticed something peculiar in one of the boxes: a tiny note wrapped around a bunch of bananas. Curious, she unwrapped it to read: ‘Take only what you need, but leave a smile behind.’ Smiling, she left a small thank-you card with her own message and continued working. Over the next few days, more notes appeared—some funny, some heartfelt, always unsigned. One day, an anonymous delivery driver even left a bag of fresh donuts with a note reading, 'For the best banana picker!' Eventually, everyone in the neighborhood started visiting Chicago Produce just to see who would write the next note.