Chicago issues retail food license to Me And My Bears Creamery & Sweet Shoppe

Overview

Updated 58 minutes ago

Chicago issued a retail food establishment license to Me And My Bears Creamery & Sweet Shoppe at 948 W Newport Ave on November 2, 2026, covering sale of food prepared onsite without a dining area. A license inspection on October 23 passed.

The licensed name echoes Me and My Bears, a Chicago-area mobile build-your-bear workshop that runs parties and sells plush online, according to its website. A food license at a fixed address is a separate approval from event permits. The record shows one license; it does not show the shop has opened or holds every approval it needs.

Why it matters

A food license at 948 W Newport Ave is the legal step that lets a business sell prepared food to walk-in customers there.

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Key Indicators

Chicago retail food licenses issued to this business at this address

One license record dated November 2, 2026.

Pass

License inspection result

Inspection on October 23, 2026, passed.

Retail Food Establishment

License category

Sale of food prepared onsite without dining area.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Organizations Involved

Me And My Bears Creamery & Sweet Shoppe

Business

Holds a Chicago retail food license at 948 W Newport Ave

Chicago retail food licensee at 948 W Newport Ave; the name echoes a local mobile build-your-bear workshop.

City of Chicago

Municipal government

Issues business licenses and food inspections

Chicago publishes business license and inspection records through its open data portal.

Timeline

October 2026 November 2026

2 events Latest: 4 days ago

November 2026
Retail food license issued
Latest Licensing

Chicago issues a retail food establishment license for prepared food sales without dining area.
4 days ago
October 2026
License inspection passes
Inspection

A city license inspection at 948 W Newport Ave returns a pass result.
October 23rd, 2026

Scenarios

Me And My Bears opens a walk-in counter at 948 W Newport Ave

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: No public projection; inferred from the license record

The license permits prepared food sales at the address. If the business lists public hours or serves walk-in customers there, the shop is operating. The record alone does not show that.

The license supports events or catering, not a walk-in shop

Uncertain Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: No public projection; inferred from the record's limits

A retail food license can cover catering, production or event sales without a public counter. If the address stays non-retail, the license still exists but the storefront does not.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1997

Build-A-Bear Workshop (1997)

Maxine Clark opened the first Build-A-Bear Workshop in a St. Louis mall, letting customers stuff and dress their own teddy bears. The format turned a toy purchase into an activity.

Then

The chain expanded to hundreds of mall locations.

Now

Build-your-own stuffed animals became a standard party and retail format, later adapted by independent operators.

Why this matters now

Me and My Bears runs a mobile version of that format; a food license at a fixed address would add a retail counter to an event business.

1998

American Girl Place (1998)

American Girl, which began as a mail-order doll catalog in 1986, opened its first American Girl Place store in Chicago. The store combined retail with a cafe and a theater.

Then

The Chicago flagship drew visitors as a destination, not just a shop.

Now

Experiential retail combining food, activity and merchandise became a model other brands copied.

Why this matters now

The Me And My Bears license pairs a food-service approval with a play-based retail concept, the same combination American Girl Place tested in Chicago.