Elk Grove officials hopeful new grocer will come to Caputo site
So what's next for the shuttered Joe Caputo & Sons grocery store in Elk Grove Village?
Nothing yet, officials say, until a federal lawsuit is resolved alleging the store owes wholesalers more than $4.6 million in unpaid produce bills.
But about a half-dozen grocery chains have expressed interest in the site, giving village officials hope that a food store will again occupy the empty 72,000-square-foot space in the Elk Grove Town Center.
Elk Grove Mayor Craig Johnson said he's "encouraged" a new grocer will come to town, after personally receiving phone calls from those interested in the site.
"It makes sense to have a grocery there," Johnson said. "As soon as the court case is resolved, we hope the interest still exists."
Less than three months after opening, Caputo closed its doors Feb. 14 after Chicago-based wholesaler Anthony Marano Co. sued for $3.6 million in unpaid produce since last June. Five other wholesalers have since added their names to the suit alleging Caputo owes them another $1 million.
The family-owned Des Plaines-based grocery chain closed two other stores in Arlington Heights and Northbrook last year. Like Elk Grove, those stores were former Dominick's locations Caputo acquired in January 2014.
Caputo still operates locations in Des Plaines, Palatine and Algonquin, which store owners have said "remain strong."
But the big investment in expansion, followed by the closings, "left a large and unexpected financial burden on our core operations," the company said in a Feb. 13 Facebook post to customers.
The store owners haven't disputed their debts but say they've been unable to pay because of cash flow problems, the federal suit states.
A temporary restraining order granted by a federal judge gave Marano's attorney the authority to close the Elk Grove store and liquidate its assets, in whole or in part.
Since Caputo's lease itself is an asset, that holds up the filling of the vacant space with a new tenant until the litigation is over, Johnson said.
How long the legal proceedings might last is unknown. The temporary restraining order was recently extended to April 14, when attorneys for the wholesalers and Caputo are due in court again for a status hearing.
Marano's attorney, Rob Marcus, declined to comment Friday on the status of court proceedings and when they might be resolved.
Caputo had a sublease from Safeway, the former Dominick's owner. There's three years left on Safeway's current lease at the Elk Grove Town Center, with options for multiple five-year extensions.
Brixmor Property Group, which owns and leases out the Elk Grove Town Center, is "currently working with the lease holder on suitable replacement tenants for the former grocery store," a company spokeswoman said in a written statement.
The mayor said he believes a grocery store could be economically viable at the shopping center, where a Buffalo Wild Wings opened last year. He said the village didn't give Caputo any economic incentive money, and doesn't plan to give any to a new tenant.