Peter Rubi Is For Sale: 'This Last Year Just Put Us On Our Backs'

Editor's note: Peter Rubi has since announced it's staying in Plainfield following an "overwhelming response from the community wanting us to remain," the team told Patch.

Related article: Peter Rubi Stays In Plainfield: 'Let's Get The Facts Straight'

PLAINFIELD, IL — After opening nearly a decade ago, in 2012, Plainfield's popular family-owned market Peter Rubi is closing its doors.

"We have been struggling as a business for a long time," owner John Graves said in a Facebook Live Wednesday. "This last year just put us on our backs."

The property, at 15412 Illinois Route 59, is for sale with an asking price of $350,000. Graves said the landlord is willing to work with anyone "willing to buy the operation."

Although the Plainfield location is shuttering its doors — "Our concept is just not working here," Graves said — Peter Rubi is opening a new location in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. Graves said an investor fronted all the money for the build-out at 804 W. Montrose Ave.

Graves said he survived cancer after being given eight months to live, and afterward, he and his wife, Maria, "decided our lives are going to be dedicated to helping people fight disease through what you eat. So all of our groceries and everything we put in this store is healthy for you."

Tearing up on the video, he said they can't change their mission.

"We know that God's put us on this path to help people eat healthy food," Graves said. "And in Plainfield, it seems like they all just want cheap strawberries and deals, and yeah, we can keep doing that, but that's not our mission."

The store's concept was inspired by a young Italian couple named Peter and Rubi who peddled boxes of fresh produce across Chicago in the early 1900s. At Peter Rubi, Graves said an "incredible amount of research" is done to make sure that the products they offer are healthy. Everything they offer, the website says, is nutrient-rich and made from simple, natural ingredients.

"We have to stay on mission to provide healthy products to healthy people, so God's calling us to Uptown," Graves said.

Those interested in the sale can contact Graves at john@peterrubi.com.

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