Foxes Boxes union bakery celebrates one-year anniversary

By ELIZABETH DONALD
Illinois Correspondent

Bethalto, IL – A year after opening, Foxes Boxes, the first union bakery on the Illinois side celebrated with a vendor fair and plenty of treats.

Owner Tanya Fox has kept up her handmade, from-scratch menu and won a couple of regional awards in her first year.

“It’s been a bit tough but we are still here,” she said. The summer was difficult as regular diners went on vacation and got out of their routine, but they made it up with the farmers’ markets in the area,” Fox said.

BECAUSE THEY ARE UNION
Being the only union bakery in the area certainly helped, she said. Foxes Boxes won an award for their catering business this year, and a lot of their catering customers said they chose them because they are a union shop.

In addition, state representative candidate Nick Raftopoulos held a meet-and-greet at Foxes Boxes recently to hear residents’ concerns, and told Fox he chose them because they are union.

Kim Bartholomew, president of UNITE HERE Local 74, which represents the workers at Foxes Boxes, said the response has been really positive.

“I think a union place like this is needed in the area,” she said. “I think they’ve done an awesome job here.”

And the local does its best to remind other unions to patronize the bakery. “We certainly use them all the time,” Bartholomew said.

EVERYTHING FROM SCRATCH
But the food is definitely a major draw. Foxes Boxes was in the top three in nine categories for a competition conducted by the Edwardsville Intelligencer and Alton Telegraph, and they won not only best catering, but best seafood. The latter was definitely due to the lobster roll, which is offered on Fridays.

“We still do everything from scratch,” Fox said. “It’s all trial and error.”

Among those trials was a new chocolate croissant and kouign-amann, a sweet cake made from a croissant dough rolled in sugar and salt and caramelized. She holds a high tea once a month and still grows her own flowers and produce in the season.

ORGANIZED IN 2022
The bakery actually has been in business for more than decade, but only had a brick-and-mortar location for two years in East Alton before moving to a former Imo’s in Bethalto. The four employees organized in 2022 under Local 74, which represents hotel and restaurant workers in the area. The contract includes free health and dental insurance, among other benefits for full-time employees.

At the anniversary celebration, a number of their vendors joined in with their own products, including Phyllis Webb with The Bee Farm. The honey she sold at the anniversary celebration came from two hives located on Fox’s farm, she said.

HOURS
Foxes Boxes is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Sundays at 515A N. Bellwood, Bethalto.