A popular Mariano's grocery store in a North Shore suburb will soon close its doors after it says it won't renew its lease.
In a message announcing the news, the Village of Northfield said it "recently learned" that Mariano's, at 1822 Willow Rd., off the Edens Expressway, had decided not to renew its lease, which expires in the fall of 2025.
Mariano's confirmed to NBC Chicago that the store, which occupies more than 47,000 square feet, would be closing "later this year due to the expiration of its lease." The store added that impacted associates would be offered the chance to transfer to other locations.
“This is extremely disappointing news,” Village President Greg Lungmus said in a release about the closure. “Mariano’s has been an important and valued partner in our community for over a decade.”
In the release, village officials said they met with the site's property owners and remain hopeful that Northfield would not be without a grocery store for long. The current store is in an "ideal location" in the village, benefiting from close proximity to the Village Center, a residential neighborhood and the busy Edens Expressway, the release said.
"Finding a new grocer for this site is important for our residents and the local Mariano’s staff,” Village Manager Patrick Brennan said in the release. “I am hopeful that we can make something beneficial happen for everyone involved.”
The grocery store opened in 2014, The Record North Shore reported, after Mariano's then-parent company Roundy's purchased the location and 11 others from grocer Dominick's. The Dominick's grocery store had been in the Northfield location since 1978.
The planned closure follows a failed merger between Mariano's current parent company Kroger, and Albertson's, which owns Jewel-Osco. The $24.6 billion agreement -- which was to be the largest grocery store merger in the U.S. -- fell apart in December after two different judges blocked the merger, saying it would lessen competition and violate consumer-protection laws.
Albertsons then sued Kroger, saying the chain failed to exercise “best efforts” and to take “any and all actions” to secure regulatory approval of the companies’ agreed merger transaction.
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As part of the deal, 35 Mariano's and Jewel stores in Illinois were set to be sold, with the Northfield store was among those on the initial list. It wasn't immediately clear if the failed merger had impacted the Northfield store, or if Kroger was planning any other Mariano's grocery store closures.
At the time of publication, Mariano's parent company Kroger had not responded to NBC Chicago's request for comment.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
