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The doors to Chicago’s finest places and spaces don’t unlock themselves. This year, we’re introducing you to the passionate, enthusiastic people helping us put Open House Chicago 2017 together.

John Edel and Carolee Kokola lead Bubbly Dynamics, LLC, a social enterprise that transforms derelict industrial buildings into collaborative small business communities. Their most ambitious project, The Plant, is a former meatpacking plant turned urban farm and business incubator in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. The Plant began participating in Open House Chicago in 2013 and is always one of the event’s most popular South Side sites.

John Edel, founder

What is your favorite part about this site? Why should people see it?

How often do you get to see the inside of a meatpacking plant? Every room is different. We work to incorporate pieces of the building's previous life so that visitors can have a glimpse of how Chicago was made and the people who built it. Check out the smoke house bathrooms and the Packingtown museum.

What is the most unusual or most common question you get asked by visitors?

Everyone asks, “When will it be finished?" The Plant is a living laboratory. It will never be finished. We'll keep tweaking the details and learning from the results.

What is your favorite Open House Chicago site other than your own?

Pullman! The other piece of the industrial puzzle that made Chicago what it is today.

Carolee Kokola, director of operations

What is your favorite part about this site? Why should people see it?

It’s a little like a treasure hunt: if you look carefully, you’ll notice interesting details from the original facility at every turn, amongst modern-day food businesses and demonstration projects. Plus, visitors get an insider’s look at how food is grown and made, explained by the people who are growing and making it!

What do you love about Open House Chicago?

We don’t have regular hours where The Plant is open to the public. Open House Chicago is the exception: visitors get to look behind all those doors that are usually closed during business hours. This is our 5th year hosting OHC, and each year we have new spaces to show off and more food businesses for guests to visit.

What is your favorite Open House Chicago site other than your own?

Last year the big hit with my family was Prairie Material. Everybody had a blast hearing about the buildings all over the city that were constructed using their product and getting to check out the cement mixers.