Restaurant Raffle 2025: Win While Helping Local Businesses

Written By Mary Beth Schaye

It’s our fifth year of holding a restaurant raffle to support our composting community.  Winters are historically slower times for restaurants and cafes. We’re sponsoring a raffle where you can win a gift card from any of the food-related businesses listed below. 

  • First prize: $75 gift card

  • Second prize: $50 gift card

  • Third prize: $25 gift card

Restaurant raffle rules

The raffle begins now and runs through March 15th. To enter the raffle, show us receipts from any restaurants, cafes, caterers, bakeries, food producers, or grocery stores that are Collective Resource Compost Cooperative customers. Spend at least $100 total. You could spend it all at one place or several, as long as it adds up to at least $100. 

E-mail your receipts to customerservice@collectiveresourcecompost.coop by March 15, 2025. Winners will be drawn randomly and contacted on March 17, 2025.

Participating businesses

We’ve added several grocery stores to our composting community this year: (in order of appearance) HarvesTime Foods, Wild Onion Market Co-op and Whole Foods Market in downtown Evanston. With the help of a Sustain Evanston grant, we were able to introduce composting to several more restaurants in the Main-Dempster Mile SSA.

Alice & Friends at the Glen – 2071 Tower Dr., Glenview
Alice & Friends’ Vegan Kitchen – 5812 N. Broadway St., Chicago
Ambiente – Chicago, online only
Backlot Coffee – 2006 Central St., Evanston 
Backlot Coffee – 3982 N. Avondale Ave., Chicago
Bartleby’s Homemade Ice Cream – 1943 W. Byron St., Chicago
Beans & Bagels – 2601 W. Leland Ave., Chicago
Blind Faith Cafe – 525 Dempster St., Evanston
Blue Bottle Coffee – 313 W. Wolf Point Plaza, Chicago
Blue Bottle Coffee – 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Campagnola – 815 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Central Station Coffee & Tea – 1150 Central Ave., Wilmette
Chicago Bagel Authority – 955 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
Chicago Bagel Authority – 953 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago
Curt’s Cafe – 2922 Central St., Evanston
Curt’s Cafe – 1766 2nd St., Highland Park
DeSalvo’s Pizza – 1945 Central St., Evanston
Ever – 1340 W. Fulton Mkt., Chicago
Federales – 180 North Morgan St., Chicago
Firehouse Grill – 750 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Food for Thought Catering – Lincolnwood, online only
Goose Island Clybourn Brewhouse – 1221 W. Blackhawk, Chicago
Hackney’s on Harms – 1241 Harms Rd., Glenview
Hackney’s on Lake – 1514 E. Lake St., Glenview
HarvesTime Foods – 2632 W. Lawrence Ave., Chicago
Hewn Bakery – 1733 Central St., Evanston
Hoosier Mama Pie Company – 749 Chicago Ave., Evanston
House 406 – 1143 ½ Church St., Northbrook
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place: Arc Bar, Sixes & Eights, Third Star, Market – 2233 S. Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago
J&L Catering – Chicago, online only
Katherine Anne Confections – 2745 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago
Katherine Anne Confections – 3653 W. Irving Park Rd., Chicago
Kuni’s Japanese Restaurant – 511 Main St., Evanston
La Principal – 700 Main St., Evanston
Lefty’s Righteous Bagels – 827 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Lucky Platter – 514 Main St., Evanston
Marriot Marquis Chicago – 2121 S. Prairie Ave., Chicago
Meez Meals – Evanston, online only
necessary & sufficient coffee – 3624 W. Wrightwood Ave., Chicago
necessary & sufficient coffee – 728 S. Dearborn St., Chicago
Picnic – 1619 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel: Rendezvous Café & Winter Garden, Gather Lounge, Schaumburg Public House – 1551 Thoreau Dr. N., Schaumburg
Reprise Coffee Roasters – 710 Main St., Evanston
Sketchbook Brewing Company – 825 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Sketchbook Brewing Company – 4901 Main St., Skokie
Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile: CDA, Le Bar, La Terrace – 20 E. Chestnut St., Chicago 
Sopraffina – 222 W. Adams St., Chicago
Soul & Smoke – 1601 Payne St., Evanston
Spacca Napoli Pizzeria – 1769 W. Sunnyside Ave., Chicago
Spirit Elephant – 924 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka
Sunda New Asian – 333 N. Green St., Chicago
SunLife Organics – 333 N. Green St., Chicago
Sundrip – 210 N. Carpenter St., Chicago
Swift & Sons – 1000 W. Fulton Mkt., Chicago
Tala Coffee Roasters – 428 Green Bay Rd., Highwood
Tasty Catering – 1900 Touhy Ave., Elk Grove Village
Tweet Let’s Eat – 5020 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago
Twilight Kitchen – 7135 N. Clark St., Chicago
Union Pizzeria – 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Union Squared Pizza – 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Village Farmstand – 810 Dempster St., Evanston
Whole Foods Market – 1640 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Wildberry Pancakes – Prudential Plaza, 130 E. Randolph, Chicago 
Wild Onion Market Co-op – 7007 N. Clark St., Chicago
Yasotorn Thai Cuisine – 809 Dempster St., Evanston
YoFresh Café – 635 Chicago Ave., #7, Chicago Ave., Evanston

Happy 2025, and Bon Appétit!

Mary Beth Schaye

Mary Beth strongly believes that “It’s always better to be doing something rather than nothing.” If you’re thinking of composting at home, she can help you work out what your particular “something” can be. She’s confident a solution can be tailored to fit anyone’s needs and ambitions. “Anyone who eats can be a CRI customer, whether you are an individual or a large organization. I want you to understand the advantages of composting, and I can show you how CRI can make it easy.” Mary Beth has successfully designed waste diversion strategies for individuals, schools, houses of worship, and other communities. She’s received the governor’s Environmental Hero award for her work at her daughter’s school. Whether you’re starting with a backyard bin, a kitchen bucket, a worm farm, or a large-scale commercial collection, Mary Beth can be your good-natured guide.

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