New Black-owned grocery store brings fresh food closer to home for Chicago's Austin neighborhood

"Forty acres and a mule" was a post-Civil War promise made by the U.S. government to formerly enslaved African Americans. The idea was to provide parcels of land and a way to make a solid living, but that promise was never fulfilled.

Now, as the nation celebrates Black History Month, meet a woman who responded to that broken promise with success.

Liz Abunaw is the owner of Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. She's sassy, smart, and pulls no punches.

"What would it look like if we actually got our 40 acres?" she asked.

In Abunaw's eyes it would look just like her business, a Black woman-owned grocery store.

"I wanted to harken back to an era in time, but also make it timeless with an elevated modern feel," she said.

Forty Acres Fresh Market is at the corner of Chicago and Waller, and it stands out. The metal exterior is bold, with 45-degree angle panels and trapezoidal windows.

"This place used to look like a prison. It was a Salvation Army thrift store, and it had, like, a small little entrance. There was no windows, it was just all [concrete masonry] block, and so one of the things that I had in my mind when it came to design was that you have to open it up," Abunaw said.

When customers walk in, Abunaw wants them to step back in time with a modern general store vibe.

"The decor in this place, I wanted it to feel like a 1950's ice cream shop," she said.

Abunaw opened the grocery store in September 2025, with a lot on her list and a lot to learn.

She credits years at General Mills for helping her get the ball rolling.

"Grocery is not complicated, but it is complex, and there's a lot of small simple things that you have to do all at the same time," she said.

She said her business is the only fully functioning grocery store in the Austin community.

For years, people living in Austin had to drive to faraway neighborhoods or even the suburbs to shop for groceries.

"Look around us. The mayor lives on the next block. The man can afford food, but until we got here, he had to go into Oak Park to get food," she said.

While she doesn't like the term "food desert," she acknowledged that, when it comes to food options, there's vast inequality among communities.

It's something she felt the need to address.

"You know the saying, when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail? So for me, the only tool I have is grocery, so any problem I see, I'm like, grocery will solve that," she said.

For those who live in the Austin neighborhood, like Samuel Correa, it's a sign of relief to have a grocery store in walking distance.

"Rather than me having to drive 20 minutes away to go find potatoes, I can just come here. I was here the other day, because I needed some cilantro, and my daughter wanted juice. So it's like, I'll be right back," Correa said.

The symbolism of Forty Acres means a lot to Haniyyah King.

"Not only are we getting our 40 acres, but we definitely are getting a mule, and we got our meats up in here, and it looks healthy. All of our food looks like, it isn't just a look, but it's a real taste," King said.

Abunaw's grocery store is small, but mighty, competing against much bigger retailers and succeeding.

"If we're charging the same prices as other grocery stores, that means we're doing it right. That means we're competitive. That means we're in line," she said.

Abunaw said Forty Acres is not the first Black-owned grocery store. She said she's proud to walk in the footsteps of those who came before her.