USA
KATE KLAVER November 22, 2021
Uncommon Ground, America’s first certified organic rooftop farm, was founded by Helen and Mike Cameron. Located in Chicago Illinois, Uncommon Ground was developed with the goal of growing local, sustainable and organic food on site. Since 1991, co-founders Helen and Mike have been pioneers in the farm-to-table movement. They prioritize collaboration and sustainable development, often partnering with members of the local community.
Helen and Mike initially collaborated to create one of the first espresso bars in Chicago in 1991. They later opened a second location, and Uncommon Ground evolved to include both the rooftop garden and Greenstar Brewing — the first organic brewery in the state. In every one of their ventures, Helen and Mike prioritize the health of their customers and the environment. They obtain organic certifications to ensure that their products are chemical-free and utilize a combination of earth-friendly initiatives in the rooftop garden, including sub-irrigated EarthBoxes, beehives and long-lasting steel and cedar planter boxes.
After being named one of the “Greenest Restaurants in America,” by the Green Restaurant Association, Uncommon Ground celebrated 30 years of business in July of 2021. For Helen and Mike, evolving to the changing times has always been a priority. As a beloved and celebrated fixture in the local community, Uncommon Ground continues to pave the way for sustainable agriculture, dining and brewing.
Mood of Living: Where did you grow up?
Helen Cameron: Chicago, Jacksonville, Illinois and Duneland Beach, Indiana.
Mike Cameron: I grew up all over the West Coast, including Washington, Oregon and California.
MoL: Where did you go to school?
HC: I studied Chemical Engineering at Purdue University.
MC: I went to Fullerton College and studied Business.
MoL: How did you meet?
HC & MC: At DB Kaplans in Water Tower Place in Chicago.
MoL: What inspired you to collaborate to create one of the first espresso bars in Chicago?
HC & MC: We wanted to open our own business and we felt it would be a good entrepreneurial entry point.
MoL: How did your espresso bar evolve into what Uncommon Ground is today?
HC & MC: The espresso bar gave us the springboard to open Uncommon Ground café & coffeehouse. From there, we evolved organically over time guided by our ideals and principles.
MoL: What are your respective roles as Co-Founders of Uncommon Ground?
HC: We’ve operated on the principle of divide and conquer based on our talent and skill sets. I’ve concentrated on art booking, culinary operations, financial management and eventually organic farm management.
MC: I’ve concentrated on music booking, front of house service operations and eventually the organic brewery.
MoL: What inspired you to create an organic rooftop farm? What are the challenges of creating and managing an urban organic farm?
HC & MC: Our inspiration was gardening with our family in our youth in Chicago. Healthy, nutritious and amazingly flavorful produce that can only be harvested when you grow it yourself. As for challenges, we had no model for building, creating and planting an organic rooftop farm. There was a great deal of experiential learning. We took our lessons from year to year and have developed a great system for successfully harvesting a large amount of food from a small space.
MoL: What was the process of creating an organic brewery?
HC & MC: When we expanded in the building and took over pretty much the whole ground floor, we realized that not only could we expand into a larger music room with our music program, but we also had an extra storefront. I’d been wanting to add a brewery component to Uncommon Ground for the last 20 years, we just didn’t have the room or the financial wherewithal to make that happen. But when we purchased the building, we finally had that extra space.
MoL: Why were you interested in creating an organic brewery?
HC & MC: Our whole concept was about supporting our local economies, being as sustainable and as green as possible and really staying within the lowest carbon footprint that we could. In other words, we don’t really import anything that we can get locally. There are only a few items that we bring in just because you can’t source them from anywhere else. The brewery was just an obvious choice because it’s brewed on site. It’s literally made in the brewery, and then pumped from the brewery right into our tap handles on the corner restaurant two storefronts away through the basements. And so, it’s super fresh, everything is certified organic and it doesn’t travel. It’s served right there. Talk about zero carbon footprint.
MoL: Why did you choose the location for Uncommon Ground?
HC & MC: We chose our original location in the neighborhood where we were living because we thought we knew our neighborhood and what would be welcomed there. We chose our Edgewater location because the property was in an amazing location with everything on our wish list, plus a parking lot and a roof where we could grow food. It’s a community that we felt could really support us and the concept of local, sustainable and organic food systems.
MoL: Uncommon Ground is the first certified organic rooftop farm in the United States. What was the path to get the certification?
HC & MC: We chose to certify because we wanted to really understand what farmers go through to get organic certification.
MoL: Why is the certification important to you?
HC & MC: The certification was important because we wanted to make sure we were farming in the most chemical-free way using the wisdom of the organics to grow a healthy farm. We don’t want any bad chemicals in any of the food that we are producing and eating.
MoL: Do you source from other organic food companies? Do you collaborate with local farmers? If so, which businesses?
HC & MC: Over the years we have worked directly with many farmers, especially those at the Green City Farmers Market. Now we work with Local Foods, Testa and other distributors that we have requested to add more organic items and locally farmed products to their product lists.
MoL: What other aspects of your business incorporate sustainable practices?
HC & MC: For a period of five years, we certified with the Green Restaurant Association. During that time, each restaurant was designated as the Greenest Restaurant in the United States based on point totals in that certifying year. We were judged in the following categories: energy, food, disposables, waste, water, pollution and chemical reductions, furnishings and building materials.
MoL: Why did you incorporate solar panels? What are the benefits?
HC & MC: Restaurants use a lot of water so we added solar thermal panels to heat the restaurant water. They offset over 10% of our annual energy consumption and the return on investment on them was paid off in less than four years for the initial investment.
MoL: How do you partner with, and positively impact, the local community?
HC & MC: We work with the arts community, the music community, food banks, like-minded green businesses, our local food co-ops and on and on. We have donated to our local communities continuously for 30 years.
MoL: What plans do you have for the future of Uncommon Ground?
HC & MC: To survive! And to continue to be the cultural gathering place for both of our communities and continue to provide healthy, local and sustainable food and beverage products to our guests.
MoL: What are some of the major problems you think still need to be addressed within the food industry?
HC & MC: We need to continue to re-localize our food systems. Shift away from conventional farming methods and to more organic farming methods.
MoL: How do you lead a sustainable lifestyle, outside of your work? What are the benefits?
HC & MC: To begin, we eat healthy. Support our health and our local farmers and economy. We lead by example and hope that our guests and community will follow.
MoL: Uncommon Ground has been named World’s Greenest Restaurant and Greenest Restaurant in America by the Green Restaurant Association. What advice would you give to other restaurant owners who want to make their businesses more sustainable?
HC & MC: Do the work, make the commitment, do the research, do what’s best for your business, make a game plan and make it happen! Just do it.
MoL: On July 1, 2021, you celebrated 30 years in business. What has been the most rewarding part of your journey?
HC & MC: Making all of this happen with each other. Doing this together and living our dream, and after what we’ve dealt with during the pandemic, we’re just happy to have survived! It’s all due to the huge support from both of our communities.
Photography courtesy of Uncommon Ground
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