For the sake of settling one rumor: Pan’s Food Center is not for sale. But the building belonging to the family-owned local business is on the market.
The roughly 11,600 square-feet building at 824 S. Oak Park is listed by local real estate agent David King. Pan’s is owned by the Vlahos family, which was started by family patriarch John, and is now run by his sons, Steve and Jim.
“The business isn’t for sale,” Steve Vlahos confirmed Wednesday.
Nor are there specific plans to move elsewhere in town — at least not for now. But a successful sale, Vlahos added, could influence any future decisions.
“I can’t say what can happen. We’re doing what we can,” he said, adding that for now it’s “business as usual.”
Vlahos said the family decided to sell the building in hopes of “exploring options for capital revenue.” They’re hoping, he adds, to see what interest there is in the property before they decide what’s next.
Pan’s Food Center has been a faithful community store for nearly three decades, giving customers that sense of nostalgia after walking through the doors. Pan’s has a reputation of being a place where you get to know the cashiers, the deli man and the owners. And it’s the only place in town that offered home-delivery of groceries for those who need it.
“It’s like a little family,” Vlahos said. “You get to know people.”