Politics & Government

Mariano's Opens in Frankfort

The Frankfort location of the upscale grocery store, which is the first to open in the Southland, brings more than 400 jobs to the village.

Mariano’s Fresh Market brings its upscale brand of grocery shopping to the south suburbs March 5, with the opening of its first ever Southland store in Frankfort.

“Mariano’s is a high quality store and we’re very excited to see it come to the Village of Frankfort,” said Mayor Jim Holland.

The new location is 74,000-square-feet and has brought 460 fulltime and part time jobs to the area so far, although Mariano’s representatives hope to hire as many as 500 employees to staff the store, according to Village Administrator Jerry Ducay.

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Mariano’s combines the specialty branding of stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s with the product variety of a large grocery store, said Ducay. The Frankfort location will include an in-store café, barbeque stand, trail mix bar, coffee bar and a variety of hot food options, among other amenities.

The store has already expressed interest in joining the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce.

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“It’s a brand new business partner that adds to the atmosphere of our town,” said Ducay.

Frankfort is paving the way to bring Mariano’s to the Southland. The ninth store to open in the Chicago area, the Frankfort location is the only Mariano’s south of the company’s Chicago store at the intersection of Halsted and Monroe Streets.

However, Mariano’s has committed to opening a store in Oak Lawn in late 2014 and is currently considering a location in Evergreen Park as well.

Bob Mariano, who is chairman and CEO of Mariano’s parent company Roundy’s Supermarkets, said that Frankfort was selected as a store location because of its demographics.

Mariano’s initially expressed interest in Frankfort in fall of 2011. The village board approved the store in June 2012 and ground broke on the building the following month.

The Village of Frankfort is undertaking $1.8 million in construction projects to accommodate the store and the increased traffic it will bring to the immediate area.

Already completed is the construction of Market Street, an east-west corridor perpendicular to La Grange Road that will provide access to Mariano’s and to the 140 acres of undeveloped property to the east of the store.

In the coming months, the village will install two right turn lanes on La Grange Road, one northbound onto Market Street and the other southbound onto Lincoln Highway. A stoplight will be installed at the intersection of Market Street and La Grange Road as well.

The construction projects are designed to improve the flow of traffic surrounding Mariano’s, but Ducay also said that the grocery store has the potential to draw development to the undeveloped eastern property.

“Mariano’s is going to be a huge asset to Frankfort,” said Karen Blake, executive director of the chamber of commerce.

Read Our Recent Coverage of Mariano's in Frankfort:

  • POLL: Will You Shop at Mariano's?
  • Road Construction Related to Mariano's Will Continue Through Summer
  • Mariano's and Alsip are Hiring

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