Chicago French Market Celebrates Grand Opening at MetraMarket in Chicago’s West Loop

Chicago’s first and only year-round, European-inspired indoor market gives consumers convenient, permanent and personal access to local artisans, farmers and purveyors selling an expansive assortment of food, wine, small batch goods and flowers

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chicago French Market:

GRAND OPENING MEDIA EVENT ALERT

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2009

* * * Exciting visuals and interview opportunities * * *

WHAT	Chicago French Market opens on Thursday, December 3, 2009, at MetraMarket in Chicago’s West Loop. Located at 131 North Clinton Street, Chicago French Market is a European-inspired, indoor market offering an array of local, seasonal and certified organic produce, meats, fish and seafood, breads, pastries, small batch cheese and wine, chocolates and sweets, artisan-made goods, flowers, plus handmade prepared meals and snacks for busy customers. Unlike seasonal farmer’s markets, Chicago French Market and its vendors will stay open year-round, six days per week -- the first and only market of its kind in Chicago. Chicago may be the only Global City without a permanent marketplace, and the Chicago French Market will fill this void!
	Additional information below on Chicago French Market and the entire MetraMarket development.
	*** VISUALS AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES HIGHLIGHTED BELOW ***
WHEN	Thursday, December 3, 2009
	7:30 a.m.
	Chicago French Market opens to the public for the first time!
	7:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
	Tour the market; interview with vendors, Market Operator and Co-Developer Sebastien Bensidoun, CEO and Chairman of U.S. Equities Realty and Market Co-Developer Bob Wislow, customers and other guests of honor
	12:15 p.m.
	Grand opening ceremony with guests of honor including Master of Ceremonies Bill Kurtis, Metra Chairman Carole R. Doris, Alderman Brendan Reilly and additional Metra and City officials
	12:30 p.m.
	Celebratory cake cutting -- Four-foot cake shaped to resemble the Eiffel Tower with local Chicago touches, handmade by World Pastry Champion of 2008 and Chicago French Market vendor Dimitri Fayard, owner of Vanille Patisserie
WHERE	Chicago French Market
	131 North Clinton Street
	Chicago, Illinois 60661
*** VISUALS ***
	Chicago French Market open to the public for the first time!
	The first and only market of its kind in Chicago
	25 local artisans and purveyors of small batch food, wine, flowers and handmade goods
	Customers, City officials and luminaries, plus the Chicago French Market development team
	Four-foot celebratory cake shaped to resemble the Eiffel Tower with local Chicago touches, handmade by World Pastry Champion of 2008 and Chicago French Market vendor Dimitri Fayard, owner of Vanille Patisserie
*** INTERVIEWS ***
	Sebastien Bensidoun, market operator and co-developer
	Bob Wislow, CEO and Chairman of U.S. Equities Realty and market co-developer
	City officials and luminaries
	Metra officials
	Man on the street / customers at Chicago French Market
	Diverse and colorful vendors at Chicago French Market!
MARKET	Monday – Friday
HOURS	7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
	Saturday
	8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
	Closed Sundays
MARKET	Validated, covered, ground-level parking is available.
PARKING	One hour of FREE parking with $20 purchase at one or more Chicago French Market vendors

About Chicago French Market -- A Bensidoun Family Market

Chicago French Market is Chicago’s first and only year-round, European-inspired indoor market, a convenient new option for on-the-go commuters, community residents, area workers and tourists alike who seek high quality foods and artisan goods, dining options and memorable gifts. The 15,000-square-foot Chicago French Market is located at 131 North Clinton Street and is the anchor tenant for MetraMarket, an accessible one-stop destination that provides not only cultural and culinary experiences, but also life’s essentials and convenience products.

The Bensidoun family, Chicago French Market operators, managers and co-developers, is the largest operator of open-air markets in Paris. The family members are fourth generation market operators. Thousands of vendors sell goods at the more than 80 markets throughout the Paris metropolitan area, including Marche Raspail, one of the largest certified organic markets in Europe. In 1996, the Bensidouns decided to expand outside of Europe to develop French Markets in the United States and chose Chicago for their U.S. base of operations. The Bensidouns now operate sixteen seasonal markets in the U.S., thirteen of which are located in Chicago and area suburbs. All of the Bensidoun’s markets bring a sense of local community found in the markets of Europe, and provide customers with a place to gather, socialize, purchase quality goods at reasonable prices and meet directly with knowledgeable artisans, farmers and purveyors. For more information, visit www.chicagofrenchmarket.com

About MetraMarket

MetraMarket is an accessible, one-stop destination that provides not only cultural and culinary experiences, but also life’s essentials and convenience products. The 100,000-square-foot street level development is connected to Ogilvie Transportation Center’s bustling suburban commuter concourse and spans two city blocks bound by Lake, Canal, Washington and Clinton Streets. MetraMarket’s other tenants include a 14,000-square-foot CVS/Pharmacy now open at 101 North Clinton Street and a 2,045-square-foot Espression by Lavazza Italian café scheduled to open in late December. MetraMarket is a collaboration between developer U.S. Equities Realty, the Bensidoun family, Metra and the City of Chicago. For more information, visit www.metramarket.com

About U.S. Equities Realty

U.S. Equities Realty is a leading full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Chicago. The company serves as a strategic real estate advisor to clients throughout the United States and Latin America, providing development, program management, build-to-suit and construction oversight services; asset management and leasing; tenant representation, consulting and advisory services; and financial and investment services.

One of the company’s distinctions is its vision to transform or reposition underutilized areas into thriving urban destinations that benefit the community’s local economy, create jobs and expand entrepreneurial opportunities for new local businesses. As a pioneer developer on the forefront of change, U.S. Equities has helped to transform other underutilized transit centers including Denver Union Station, Chicago Union Station and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, plus 30^th Street Station and MetroMarket at Suburban Station in Philadelphia. U.S. Equities has also overseen the development of other transformative projects in Chicago including Millennium Park, Stony Island Plaza, John Hancock Center, One Financial Place, Spertus Institute and Willis Tower (previously Sears Tower). The company is committed to sustainable development in all of its endeavors, and assesses sustainable alternatives in all of its business practices and services. For more information, visit www.usequities.com

For more information on Chicago French Market, interviews, high-resolution images and/or additional details on visuals: Contact Lauren at 773-655-7743 / [e-mail]