Long Groves gets its largest store

While some stores are closing in a tough economy, Long Grove's Menards Mega Store opens 6:30 a.m. next Tuesday.

The home improvement store had been trying to come to Long Grove at 2700 Lake Cook Road for years.

Issues with road widenings and opposition from neighbors and businesses slowed the process but now in less than a week the village's largest store, about 240,000 square feet, will open.

Former Village Trustee Chris Borawski, who worked on the project with the board, said the 36-acre site had been eyed by Menards for about eight years.

The company had to work with the Illinois Department of Transportation to widen Route 53, which took some time, he said.

Also, residents who live nearby and businesses were concerned about the intrusion of a large store. But the village had asked for taller fencing to help lessen the impact, he said.

"There was a long process and it was not all Long Grove that was slowing it down," Borawski said.

Despite the current economy, Borawski expects the store to do well.

"I think it's a store people want to go to," Borawski said. "It's versatile and it has everything you need around the house."

The Long Grove store will be a replacement for a smaller Palatine store on Rand Road that will be closing down next month, said Guy Rutter, who's the general manager at the Palatine store and who'll have the same title in the new store.

The Palatine store is about 70,000 square feet, while the Long Grove store will be about four times larger. It'll have a full garden center and a complete line of appliances, unlike the Palatine store, which was built in the 1990s.

In February, the Long Grove store expects to have a week of sales and celebrity signings, Rutter said. The final dates are still being figured out, he said.

The Long Grove store will be the latest Menards to open in the Chicago area, said Jeff Abbott, a Menards spokesman.

On Nov. 18, Menards opened a store at 7435 Barrington Road in Hanover Park. In the spring, the Wisconsin-based chain expects to open another store in Chicago.