Mariano's 40th store to open Tuesday in Bloomingdale

A new Mariano's will open Tuesday in a former Dominick's store in Bloomingdale.

The upscale grocer will introduce its 40th store, which will employ 350 people, at 6 a.m. at 144 S. Gary Ave. in the Stratford Crossing Shopping Center.

During a Friday morning preview tour, Strategic Brand Development Director Amanda Puck said the 71,000-square-foot Bloomingdale store brings with it all the specialty offerings that define what it means to shop at Mariano's, including an artisanal cheese shop, Todd's BBQ station, an oyster bar, the SQUEEZ'D juice bar and aisles of domestic and international food choices.

"We're also doing a real focus on local vendor items here," Puck said as many of them set up displays in preparation for Tuesday's opening. "We have always supported local vendors and many of them will be in the store for the first few weeks sampling the products so our customers can get familiar with them."

Puck said another popular feature at other locations will be available in the Bloomingdale store, too: The meat department will cook customers' purchases right in the store.

Puck said it's not unusual for shoppers to take to social media to post photos of their meals while taking in the "grocerant" experience.

"People do it all the time," Puck said. "I think it's great that it's so comfortable for people and it's easy."

Village President Franco Coladipietro said Bloomingdale has been eagerly waiting for the store to fill the vacancy created at the end of 2013 when Dominick's closed throughout the suburbs.

"We are proud to welcome Mariano's to our Bloomingdale family. The anticipation and enthusiasm leading to its opening has been overwhelming," Coladipietro said Friday. "The Mariano's foodie experience is a perfect compliment to our community."

Puck said the store will immediately contribute to the community by making a sizable donation to the Neighborhood Food Pantries and the Bloomingdale Township Food Pantry through an initiative called "Stuff the Squad," where bags of nonperishable foods are loaded into police cars and delivered to the pantries.

Such collections are done several times a year and once the store opens, customers will be encouraged to donate bags of food to the cause.

"When we open a new store, we immediately partner with a local food pantry and we continue that through the year," Puck said. "It's a really important piece to Mariano's joining the community and doing our part."

The Bloomingdale store will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

The pharmacy will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

Additional details on other grand opening week initiatives and events can be found on Mariano's Facebook, Twitter and website at marianos.com.