Mariano's, Village Officials Meet to Discuss Future Location

Local Business Buzz is a roundup of what's going on in Frankfort's business community. This includes store openings and closings, listings of special events and a look at upcoming sales and deals.

The first tiny steps to building a Mariano's Fresh Market location off of LaGrange Road began last week at a public workshop for the . And while there are few firm details and a timeline that can be measured in years, not months, a picture of what the high-end grocery will look like is starting to develop.

Mariano's, which is owned by Milwaukee-based Roundy's Supermarkets and has five locations in the Chicagoland area, , just south of . The proposed land currently houses Red Door Realty and , but those storefronts would be demolished to make way for Mariano's.

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Representatives from Roundy's, local developer the Bradfrod Group and the plan commission discussed the store's site plan, building architecture, landscaping and other areas, with commission members asking questions and giving their recommendations, said Jeff Cook, Frankfort development and building director.

As of yet, there are no blueprints or concept drawings of what the store would look like, but the reps from Roundy's told the commission the market would resemble Mariano's Vernon Hills location, tailored to meet Frankfort standards, Cook said. 

"We're very preliminary in the process right now," he said, adding that the comments and tone of last Thursday's workshop were very positive. "Mariano's is in the driver seat right now. ... At this point they're going to have resubmit some more detailed information (on the site and building architecture)."

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Although nothing is set, Mariano's hopes to open by fall of 2013 or spring of 2014, Cook said. 

. The village would work with the Illinois Department of Transportation to get that signal placed, which also will help create more opportunities to attract larger commercial developments to that area thanks to an eventual collector road that could connect LaGrange Road to Pfeiffer Road.

The concern from readers is that there would be too many lights in that stretch of roadway, causing traffic congestion. However, Cook said IDOT already has studied that area and had already decided a traffic signal would be workable before Mariano's decided to locate there. Before a light would be set up, the state agency would look at things like lane depth, signal timing and other issues to make sure traffic wouldn't be impeded, he added.

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About 15 to 20 residents attended the meeting, which is a good turnout for something of that nature, Cook said.

"I think it's just an indicator to see how excited the community is for somethng like this," he said.

Pete Mitchell's Can Stay Open Later

The Village Board last week approved a request from that would allow the nightspot to extend its hours. The bar, which recently changed owners, will now be open until 1 a.m. daily, but its outdoor seating area will remain open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.