Pete’s Fresh Market is in the final stages of purchasing the shuttered Dominick’s grocery store in Oak Park, Pete’s executive officer Stephanie Dremonas told Wednesday Journal Monday in an exclusive interview.
Dremonas, daughter of Pete’s owner James Dremonas, said the land purchase at 259 Lake St. is expected to be completed by the end of January, and the Chicagoland grocery chain is hoping to have the doors open for business by the end of 2014.
Dremonas said Pete’s officials have worked closely with the Village of Oak Park in its plans for the new location.
“The village was supportive and receptive to our operation and our building aesthetics,” she said.
Village President Ana Abu-Taleb said in a telephone interview that, “Village Hall is ready to set them up quickly and help them to achieve their turnaround time.”
“Pete’s Produce is looking for a particular market to set up shop, and it’s a good fit for them and a good fit for us,” he said. “It’s going to be a happy marriage.”
Dremonas said her dad opened his first grocery store at Central Avenue and North Avenue in the Austin community 20 years ago, “So he’s coming back to the neighborhood.”
She said once the land purchase is complete, Pete’s will begin working on the design of the store, which is expected to employ 100 to 125 staff.
“We like to hire from the community,” she said. “So people can look forward to seeing their neighbors working in their local grocery store.”
She said the Oak Park Dominick’s, one of 72 locations that closed in December, was an attractive site for Pete’s because of the diversity of its customer base.
“It’s not just one race or one ethnicity or one economic class,” she said. “It’s an array of people, ranging from white collar to blue collar. It’s exciting for us to plan a store that is diverse.”
She said the company considered the shuttered River Forest Dominick’s location, 7501 North Ave., along with several other locations in the Chicagoland area, but for now is focusing on getting the Oak Park location going. Dominick’s opened its Oak Park store in 1988, having built fresh on the site of an old commuter bus terminal.
She declined to disclose the terms of the purchase.
Pete’s currently has nine locations in the Chicagoland area. Dremonas encouraged Oak Park residents who have never been to Pete’s to visit its Oakbrook Terrace location at 17w 675 W. Roosevelt Rd.
She said that although the grocery store aims to open before the end of the year, it is uncertain how long renovation of the building will take.
“We want to make sure the people of Oak Park are not deprived of a grocery store, but we want to do it right,” she said.
She said the store will have a full service meat and seafood counter, deli and homemade bakery department. Pete’s also is hoping to include a satellite Starbuck’s coffee shop, as did the Dominick’s Oak Park store. The store also will offer conventional and organic produce, she said.
She said it was too early in the process to say whether the new Pete’s will include an in-store bank.
“We’re planning to offer everything the community is asking for with the footprint we’re provided,” she said, adding the grocery store chain will do everything it can to open by the of the year, “But things happen with construction; you never know what you’re going to find.”
“We may start from scratch with the floor plans,” she said. “We don’t want to rush to open just to open. We want to open it the right way and make it meaningful.”
Abu-Taleb noted that businesses like Pete’s also help bolster the tax base, taking pressure off residents.
“We’ve always had a great residential stock,” he said. “But the commercial part of (economic development) has always been an afterthought. If we don’t have the right balance and the right mixture, our residents suffer by paying higher taxes.”
Viktor Schrader, vice president of the Oak Park Development Corporation, said the economic development group has been working with Pete’s since December to bring the store to Oak Park.
“The finishes (to the new store) will be the same, and the focus on produce will be the same,” Schrader said. “We’ve heard from the community that they would like a produce market in town.”
He echoed Abu-Taleb’s concern that the vacancy of Dominick’s would be a significant loss to the village’s tax base. Schrader said he is hopeful that Pete’s “could produce more sales tax than Dominick’s because of their approach and their layout.”
With Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Jewel-Osco location in and around the village, Schrader said Pete’s focus on produce “is going to be a factor that stands out.”