Tuesday, October 29, 2013

An Update On Dominick's

Ald. Osterman wrote in his 10/25 newsletter:
"Many of you have reached out to my office with questions, ideas and suggestions regarding the two Dominick's sites at 6009 N. Broadway and 5201 N. Sheridan Road. I have been in contact with Safeway, Dominick's parent company, and have been told that they intend on maintaining ownership of the buildings.

The Dominick's "stores" will go to an online auction in early November. I have asked the Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development to meet with Safeway and monitor their intentions for these sites. I am also in active conversations with alternate, high-quality grocers and their real estate brokers.. Additionally, I have been in contact with the Union for Dominick's employees and want to ensure that our local employees can maintain their jobs."
With the Foster/Sheridan store being a flagship and so new, we suspect it will go to Mariano's, the only store currently creating stores that size.  We've got no insider info on this, just makes sense given Mariano's entry into the Chicago market and the fact that it was supposedly committed to establishing a store in Uptown (at Maryville) when Sedgwick was the developer-to-be.

11 comments:

  1. Would love a Mariano's to move in, but would a store at Foster & Sheridan be too close to the one that they're building at the Ravenswood station? Any chance that Jewel would want to move their store at Broadway and Berwyn into the newer space? I wonder what the significance of Safeway maintaining ownership of the real estate is. Does that make it more likely or less likely that another grocer would move into the space? So many questions...

    ReplyDelete
  2. That does not make much sense to me. Why would Mariano's take the store at 5201 N Sheridan if their brand new 'un-opened' store is at Wolcott and Lawrence about 1.5 miles away? It would make more sense for a new player to uptown like Whole Foods or Trader Joe to take a portion of the Sq Ft and convert the balance to another business/Restaurant. Infra structure is already there and its a fairly new store.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's too big for a Trader Joe's. Roundy's, which owns Mariano's, is a contender, but the new store on Lawrence could be too close for that location to be attractive. Kroger may take the opportunity to enter Chicago, but it's nothing to get excited about. A perfectly serviceable grocery, much like Jewel, unless they decide to make it their discount banner, Food 4 Less.
    Safeway mismanaged Dominick's, and it will likely bungle the divestiture of the business too, leaving the community to suffer the loss.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's all just spitballing until someone takes over the store.

    The new Lawrence/Wolcott store would be 1.1 miles from the existing Dominick's. The one Mariano's was committed to opening at Maryville, when Sedgwick was in the game, was 1.6 miles from the Lawrence/Wolcott store. Does a half-mile make a difference? Not sure.

    For whatever reason, Trader Joe's doesn't seem interested in being in the Uptown/Edgewater market. http://www.uptownupdate.com/2013/08/just-not-that-into-us.html Their stores are usually half the size of the existing Dominick's.

    Would Safeway be willing to subdivide a brand-new turnkey supermarket? Maybe, but not until every other option is exhausted. It's only a couple years old.

    According to most industry experts, Mariano's is the only grocer interested in big spaces these days. “Mariano’s is one of the only retail chains doing well with 65,000 foot prototypes these days. Other grocery retailers are being more focused in much smaller spaces.” (Source: http://www.andnowuknow.com/buyside-news/kroger-roundys-and-jewel-osco-emerge-most-likely-buyers-dominicks/christofer-oberst)

    Seems like there's no answer yet. I would hate to see that site sit empty for months and years.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Don't ask me how I know this because I might have to get the NSA to tap your phones, too late, but Mariano's is the likely tenant for the soon to be closed Dominicks. This is good news for Edgewater and North Uptown, but bad news for those hoping for a Mariano's somewhere south of there.

    Proximity of one store to another is less important than density and consumer buying power. How many Jewel stores are in or near Uptown?

    Two Jewel stores in N Lakeview. One in Uptown. One in S Edgewater. Go a bit further out and an equal number of Jewel stores pop up.

    Jewel, Dominicks, and Mariano's target market is people in the immediate hoods. Places like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods expect their shoppers to come from a wider area.

    Mariano's could do well with multiple locations in the Uptown, Edgewater, Ravenswood, Rogers Park areas. More available locations. They'll have an easier time finding sites north of Irving than in Lakeview or Lincoln Park.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm hoping for Mariano's but I wouldn't mind a Pete's Fresh Market either. I've shopped at the one out in Oak Brook, and it's a very nice store with a great selection and good prices.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Irish Pirate is correct -- proximity is less meaningful than people think. Retailers operate in trading areas, and these are defined differently for each one. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have wider trading areas (like a Target). Their shoppers are willing to travel and mostly (but not all) supplement their shopping with trips to a more traditional market for other items. The density and demographics will matter to a Mariano's as will proximity to transportation.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What about a Moo and Oink? I know they are mainly on the West side but they have fantastic meat prices.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ok you've taken your schtick too far this time americanlt. You expect us to believe you and Mister Poochy would travel to the west side for some meat and pork products? I know you've been engaged in some years long performance art here, but that's just too much.

    In any case Moo and Oink no longer have any retail locations. However, the Moo and Oink brand lives and can be purchased at the following Greater Uptown area locations:

    1. Jewel - 3443 - 5343 N Broadway, Chicago IL 60640
    2. Jewel - 3455 - 4355 N Sheridan, Chicago IL 60613
    3. ONE STOP CONVENIENCE - 4601 N SHERIDAN RD, CHICAGO IL 60640
    4. Jewel - 3443 - 5343 N Broadway, Chicago IL 60640
    5. Jewel - 3455 - 4355 N Sheridan, Chicago IL 60613
    6. ONE STOP CONVENIENCE - 4601 N SHERIDAN RD, CHICAGO IL 60640


    ReplyDelete
  10. I wish a Fresh Farms store would open at the Dominick's location at Sheridan/Foster. Fresh Farms beats Dominick's/Jewel/Trader Joe's/Whole Foods/Edgewater produce/Harvestime when it comes to fresh produce and spices - in terms of both quantity, variety and price. I live here in Uptown but I go all the way to Devon/Rockwell to buy my vegies/fruits/spices and basmati rice (No, I'm not South Asian but I like Basmati rice).

    Closer to home, there's Viet Hoa, Tai Nam and Hoa Nam which offer lower prices on fresh produce compared to mainstream stores but many of their vegies look limp and old/shriveled and those stores could do with a lot of cleaning. Fresh Farms is cleaner. Niles seems to have the bulk of cheapy but good fresh produce stores - like Jerry's and Fresh Farms. It would be nice to get more non-Dominick's/Jewel/Mariano's type of fresh produce stores in Chicago. Say what - $2.99 for 32 oz of minced garlic at Fresh Farms vs $9+ at Dominick's?!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Auctions start Nov 1st. All stores will close Dec 28 or sooner depending on the purchaser. Jewel and Marianos are purchasing many locations but Tony's and some other independent grocers are also picking up stores.

    ReplyDelete