Woldhuis Farms Sunrise Greenhouse in Grant Park remains open after an electrical fire tore through two of its structures Wednesday morning, though the business owners continue to assess damage. The fire started at about 11:30 a.m. on the west side of the 160-acre farm’s greenhouse storefront, wher e the business’ food court and a food truck sit. Owner Trevor Woldhuis said a little beforehand, employees began to smell smoke, but weren’t immediately alarmed as business owners have a burn pile on the property to get rid of some organic materials. “We don’t know exactly what, but we suspect (something) electrical happened over in that area, and then all of a sudden it did start bursting into flames and spread pretty quickly,” Woldhuis said Friday. The food court greenhouse was quickly consumed by the fire, and the connected structure known as the chicken house was also heavily damaged. Live chickens used to be in the building that now only houses products including pottery and ceramics, some of which are salvageable, Woldhuis said. After the fire broke out, Woldhuis said, one employee called 911 while others unsuccessfully tried to douse the flames with fire extinguishers. “It was too small of tools for how the fire was quickly spreading,” Woldhuis said. Resulting damage to the food court area of Woldhuis Farms Sunrise Greenhouse from an electrical fire Jan. 14, 2026. (Trevor Woldhuis) Grant Park firefighters responded quickly and requested a box alarm, notifying many neighboring areas, officials said. Responding firefighters came from Crete, Kankakee, Manhattan, Monee, Riverside, University Park and Frankfort, the Grant Park Fire District said in a statement. “The fire was successfully contained, limiting damage to the affected structure and preventing further loss to the property,” the fire district said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but “no one was injured, civilian or fire personnel, during the incident,” the statement said. Woldhuis said the food court was lost to the fire, but he hopes to be able to restore the chicken house, which is one of the business’ oldest structures. “I remember as a kid, a lot of our growing and transplanting took place in that building,” Woldhuis said. “So it has a lot of really neat sentimental memories behind it … It’ll be a shame if we have to tear it down.” The inside of a building known as the chicken house, which holds greenhouse inventory including pottery, was damaged in the Jan. 14, 2026 fire at Woldhuis Farms Sunrise Greenhouse. (Trevor Woldhuis) The business reopened the next day, though phones and internet were temporarily down as their systems were housed in the chicken house building. The nurseries and greenhouses where plants are sold were not damaged, Woldhuis said. He said the business is working with its insurance company to finance repairs and rebuilds and expressed appreciation for an outpouring of community support since the fire. “It’s been very humbling and a huge encouragement to know how many people are thinking about us, supporting us through this trial,” Woldhuis said. [email protected] ...read more read less