Fresh Farms To Open Grocery In Former Jewel Space On Golf Road

Fresh Farms International Market, which already has one grocery store in Niles on Touhy in Pointe Plaza, will open a second one in the village.

The new store will go into the former Jewel-Osco space in Four Flaggs Shopping Center, at the southeast corner of Golf Road and Milwaukee Avenue.

But don't expect a carbon copy of Fresh Farms' Touhy Avenue store, or any of the other Fresh Farms locations.

"Every single one of (owner Dino Svigos') stores is different," said Ross Klicker, the  village of Niles' economic development specialist. "They don't have a centralized warehouse, so each manager gears it to their clientele."

The Niles village board approved a zoning variance to let the Fresh Farms' facade reach 54 feet high at its highest peak, when the zoning would normally allow only 36 feet, at its Aug. 27 meeting.

Svigos' company, Grand Golf LLC, plans to put in a distinctive stone facade that creates almost a tower-like atrium, Klicker said. Part of the aesthetically pleasing stone and glass parapet will reach to the 54-foot height. It will look similar to Fresh Farms' existing store at Milwaukee Avenue and Dundee Road in Wheeling.

Svigos now has all the approval permits and a demolition permit, and Klicker said he's expected to start demolishing the interior of the former Jewel store, and a portion of the front-facing wall. The exterior walls and facade may be completed before winter sets in, allowing construction crews to build out the interior during the cold months.

A late spring 2014 opening is expected.

Fresh Farms has three locations listed on its website--the Touhy Avenue store in Niles, the Wheeling store and a third at 2626 W. Devon Ave., Chicago. However, Klicker said they may expand to as many as a dozen in the next year and a half.

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