Frankfort plans to make way for another grocer

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Updated: February 25, 2012 8:06AM

On a roadway that already is home to five grocery stores in a span of about two miles, a new one is being proposed along LaGrange Road in Frankfort.

Mariano’s Fresh Market, which is expanding its reach in the Chicago area, plans to build a 70,000-square-foot store in the 20900 block of LaGrange Road. The village’s plan commission will review the plan in a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

“It’s great to see a store like this wanting to build in Frankfort, especially in this economic climate,” village planner Jeff Cook said.

Mariano’s is owned by Milwaukee-based Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc., which has opened stores in Chicago, Vernon Hills and Arlington Heights. The store features traditional groceries, plus a prime meat market, bakery, prepared foods, international foods, bulk items, a pharmacy and a liquor department, he said. It also features a hot buffet of international dishes, a sushi bar, woodstone pizza and a sandwich shop with indoor seating.

The building has not yet been designed but will be modeled after the Vernon Hills store, and will include brick, block, architectural metal and a glass atrium, Cook said. Architecture, landscaping and the site plan will be discussed by the plan commission.

“There is definitely a market for this type of store,” he said. “It will differentiate itself from other stores.”

Grocery stores along LaGrange Road from just north of LaPorte Road in Mokena to just south of U.S. 30 in Frankfort include Brookhaven Marketplace in Mokena, and Aldi, Dominick’s, Walt’s and Jewel in Frankfort.

The proposal calls for Mariano’s to be located south of Old Plank Trail Community Bank and north of McDonald’s in an area now occupied by homes that were converted into business, including DePaulo Travel and Red Door Realty. Those buildings would be razed and the businesses would be relocated, Cook said.

“We’re very excited to see new commercial development and hope to keep it moving along,” he said. No construction time frame has been established.