New grocery in Vernon Hills on fast track

A new concept grocery store proposed in Vernon Hills will be on the fast track, with a groundbreaking possible this fall.

Village leaders and even vigilant neighbors appeared impressed with what they heard during a presentation Wednesday for a Mariano's Fresh Market at the Shoppes of Gregg's Landing retail center.

"This is very high on, at least on my own personal list, of the type of business we want to see in town," Trustee Thom Koch said. "I like this very much."

Details, such as landscaping location, color scheme and type of building materials, for example, will need to be reviewed by staff and aired at a public hearing before the village board officially weighs in.

Initial plans and drawings from Milwaukee-based Roundy's Supermarkets Inc., were well received. The building and other features are designed to blend with the adjoining Lowe's and other stores.

"Based on what I see here, it looks like most of the (requests) we made with the initial development are being met here, with the exception of the concrete block," which with brick and stone, was listed as a building material, said Chet Lis, a Gregg's Landing resident.

Homeowner associations in the adjoining upscale subdivision, played an active role in the look of the retail center on the west side of Milwaukee Avenue.

"The Lowe's store we have in Gregg's Landing is probably the most beautiful Lowe's store in the country," he added.

Named for company chairman and CEO Bob Mariano, the 70,000-square-foot grocery, with pharmacy and a liquor department, would be a hybrid of traditional supermarkets and specialty stores, such as Trader Joe's.

"I could ramble on for hours about what this is going to be," said Dan Farrell, vice president of real estate for Roundy's, which operates Pick `n Save, Copps Food Center and Rainbow Foods stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The company will debut its first Illinois store this summer in Arlington Heights, and plans to build several more in the area in the next few years.

There may be similarities, but no two are the same, according to Farrell.

"We do not do prototype stores," he said. "Everyone of the 153 we operate today is different."

Customers will be able to order to fresh fish, for example, and have it grilled to their liking as they wait or shop. Offerings can vary and change based on customer input, he added. "We truly believe if you're not listening to your customers, you're going to lose them," Farrell said.

Bill Bishop, a food retailing expert at Willard Bishop Consulting in Barrington, has visited Roundy's stores in Wisconsin.

"One thing, it's going to be is different, and being different is important today in the marketplace," he said.

A project synopsis noted it also likely would eliminate competition on adjacent parcels. That was a reference to the former Franks Nursery and Crafts site across the street in Libertyville, where a grocery store had been partially completed but later demolished.

Economic Development Coordinator Heather Rowe said the village is talking with several regional and national grocers regarding several sites in town.

"The ones we've spoken to are of similar caliber to Mariano's," she said. No decisions have been made or plans submitted.