Tony's Finer Foods moving to Prospect Heights
Tony's Finer Foods is expected to open by mid-May in place of the shuttered Ultra Foods in Prospect Heights, Mayor Nick Helmer said Monday.
The Ultra store at 1241 N. Rand Road closed March 1, barely two years after its opening, because of poor performance.
Helmer has higher hopes for Tony's.
"We really think this is the right grocery store to go in there," he said. "Tony (owner Tony Ingraffia) has experience. We're ecstatic about it."
Helmer said an agreement between the property's landlord and Tony's will be signed by Tuesday.
A representative of Tony's Finer Foods was not available for comment Monday.
Helmer said Tony's will use the entire 87,000-square-foot building Ultra Foods left behind and will add a butcher counter.
"They will install some new counters for the fresh meat market and have a butcher on duty," he said. "It will cater a bit more to the customers' needs."
Whether Tony's will seek the same sales tax sharing agreement Prospect Heights had with Ultra Foods is unclear, Helmer said.
Under the city's agreement with Ultra Foods, the grocer was to receive half the city's share of sales taxes generated at the store for 15 years. Each side was projected to bring in $2.9 million over the 15-year period.
"Right now it depends on what they bring to the table," Helmer said of a potential agreement with Tony's. "We want the store in our city."
Helmer said that with the Arlington Heights Caputo's closing down the street, the timing is right for a new grocery store.
Tony's Finer Foods also replaced Hanover Park's Ultra Foods in 2013 and is planning to open in a former Dominick's in Schaumburg.