Morton Grove Flirting With Two Grocery Chains; Aims To Replace Dominick's

Morton Grove officials met last week with two grocery store chains and two restaurants about having them locate businesses in the village, Mayor Dan DiMaria announced at Monday's village board meeting.

Residents have been clamoring for a new full-service grocery store since Dominick's closed in late December. Its space in Prairie View Plaza, on the southeast corner of Waukegan Road and Dempster Street, remains vacant. 

DiMaria and village staff, including Nancy Radzevich, the economic development director, have been reaching out to various retailers and chains, DiMaria said. Last year, they attended two International Council of Shopping Centers conferences in an attempt to drum up business.

Village Manager Ryan Horne said those efforts have made the village more savvy.

"What we've learned from attending the shopping center conferences is that there are a significant number of chains trying to get into the middle market," Horne explained. Asked to define middle market, he characterized it as the middle price range, between discount grocers such as Aldi and specialty retailers such as Trader Joe's.  

Both DiMaria and Horne said they could not name the grocery chains village officials met with last week.

However, DiMaria said one of the grocery chains is looking for a location right on the outskirts of a city, and a representative told him Morton Grove is "right in their bull's eye." 

"Patience is needed, but I think in the end, people are going to be very satisfied," he said.

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