Four Star Mushrooms Expands Sustainable Food Initiative in Near West Side

By Socialhood News · Il/Chicago/Near West Side · October 24, 2025

The Near West Side's Four Star Mushrooms is making headlines as one of 30 new sites featured in this year's Open House Chicago event taking place October 18-19. This innovative urban farming initiative is focused on sustainable food systems and is helping transform the neighborhood's approach to local food production.

Every October, the Chicago Architecture Center hosts Open House Chicago—a free public festival that showcases culturally and architecturally significant sites throughout the city, and Four Star Mushrooms is proud to be included among this year's featured locations. Founded by Joe Weber, the facility uses controlled environment agriculture (CEA), allowing producers to manage variables like temperature and humidity while growing resource-efficient and nutrient-dense food indoors. With sustainability at its core, nothing goes to waste—excess mushrooms are dried and sold to chefs, while used substrate blocks are sent to a regenerative farm partner where they're broken up and spread over soil to boost fertility.

Residents interested in learning more can visit the high-tech indoor exotic mushroom farm during Open House Chicago, where tours led by a master mycologist will be available. Visitors will even receive their own mushroom sample to take home. The farm currently produces seven varieties of mushrooms, including lion's mane, chestnut, blue oyster, black oyster, maitake, golden enoki, and king trumpet. To learn more about sustainable food systems or to purchase locally grown mushrooms, visit Four Star Mushrooms' website or stop by during the Open House Chicago event this weekend.

Sources:
1. https://chicago.suntimes.com/architecture-design/2025/09/17/open-house-chicago-2025-sites-chicago-architecture-center
2. https://fourstarmushrooms.com/pages/store
3. https://fourstarmushrooms.com/blogs/events
4. https://www.wttw.com/playlist/2023/07/27/four-star-mushrooms
5. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g35805-d31417255-Reviews-Four_Star_Mushrooms-Chicago_Illinois.html
6. https://www.verticalfarmdaily.com/article/9642953/us-il-an-abundance-of-market-opportunities-for-mushrooms-in-chicago/