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End Of Line For The Enterprising Kitchen

CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Once called an "iconic social enterprise", a one of a kind business in Chicago that trained low income women for work, has shut down.

LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Felicia Middlebrooks Reports

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As WBBM Newsradio 780's Felicia Middlebrooks reports, the Enterprising Kitchen operated for 15 years before closing its doors this past Friday.

At the non-profit firm's plant at 4426 N. Ravenswood Ave., women were trained to make soaps, gels and bath salts that eventually wound up on store shelves at more than 200 retailers.

Executive Director Carolyn Nopar told the Chicago Sun-Times that board members made the difficult decision to close last week. Pleas for help from large foundations that fell on deaf ears, and mounting debt, were the undoing of the Enterprising Kitchen.

Even an attempt to merge with another non-profit failed.

Once thriving and founded in 1995, the Enterprising Kitchen is now a victim of the sagging economy.

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