‘It’s really pretty’: Heinen’s grocery store opens in Naperville
A sign in the meat department of the new Heinen’s grocery store in Naperville introduces customers to its namesake founder.
Joe Heinen started the business as a butcher shop in Depression-era Ohio under the belief that you have to “find the best to sell the best.”
Jeff Heinen still applies a lesson from his grandfather — “treat your people with respect and treat them well” — in running the nearly century-old, family-owned grocer with his twin brother.
“They’ll treat the customers well,” he said of employees. “And that will, in turn, create loyal customers.”
Heinen’s is already fostering that loyalty in Naperville. The 46,000-square-foot store opened Wednesday with a packed parking lot, fall mums and pumpkins at the entrance and new fans.
“I love it. It's really pretty, and they have a really good selection of produce, especially,” Naperville mom Danielle Ethier said.
There’s a notably diverse array of mushrooms, with shiitake, beech and maitake among those in bulk bins. Then there are the packaged pink oysters and stuffed spinach artichoke mushrooms.
“It’s the biggest variety of mushrooms I’ve seen. Even H Mart doesn’t have this many kinds of mushrooms,” said Ethier, who also had sushi at the top of her shopping cart in her first trip to a Heinen’s.
“What we believe is that the more people shop us, the more they recognize the things that we do that are different,” Jeff Heinen said.
Much of the produce is grown in the Midwest and designated as such. A “featured partner” is an Ohio grape vineyard founded by the Linehan family.
“One thing about Heinen’s that make us very unique is, for a company of our size, we do our own distribution,” Jeff Heinen said. “So we're able to buy from those farmers direct and then, in turn, distribute to our stores. It's not common, and they’re family businesses, just like we are.”
With deep roots in Ohio, the grocer unveiled its first Illinois store in Barrington in 2012. Stores in Glenview, Bannockburn and Lake Bluff followed in 2014.
“We are not about getting bigger. We’re about getting better,” Jeff Heinen said.
The fifth Heinen’s in the Chicago area was built from the ground up across from the Naperville Country Club. The former Butera market was demolished to pave the way for its construction off Chicago Avenue.
Food store sales in Naperville amounted to more than $496 million in 2024, according to the Melaniphy & Associates Chicago metropolitan area retail sales report. The city had the highest food store sales of any suburban community.
“This is a great opportunity for Heinen’s to put their mark down in our community,” Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli said.
Shoppers also can order carnitas tacos, bowls, quesadillas and burritos from Heinen’s in-store restaurant, which has both indoor and outdoor seating. In a prepared foods area, they’ll find family-friendly meals: glazed meatloaf, chicken tenders with macaroni and cheese, gyro kits, plus chicken Caesar, vegetable, turkey avocado and “Godfather” wraps.
“We ended up in Chicago because we felt over a long period of time we could have many stores, because we think the secret to our success is our culture,” Jeff Heinen said.
His son and his brother’s daughters are all in their 30s and involved in the business. Heinen’s also operates 19 stores in Ohio. Trained as a butcher in Cleveland, Joe Heinen started that legacy, striking out on his own at the beginning of the Depression. He was a “very brave soul.”
“We're going to remain as a family-run business and are in the process of transitioning to the fourth generation, which is very unusual,” Jeff Heinen said.
He credited employees, a small, friendly army wearing Heinen’s blue shirts and dispersed throughout the Naperville store, for the company’s staying power.
“We understand that our associates drive our success, and so our first goal is to have our associates who love to work for Heinen’s and are proud to wear this shirt.”
Store hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.