New Aldi to open in Palatine

Plans to open an Aldi grocery store in the Deer Grove Crossing Shopping Center in Palatine won village approval Monday night, meaning the large strip mall near Dundee and Rand roads once again has all of its major tenant spaces filled.

"It's nice to see a center that 4 or 5 years ago was really struggling for existence bounce back and be fully leased with good tenants," Village Manager Reid Ottesen said after the village council unanimously passed the plan.

Since 2011, the center has lost and replaced major tenants including Dominick's, which became a Hobby Lobby, a Michaels, which became a TJ Maxx, and HomeGoods and Staples, which is where the new Aldi will be located.

The Aldi also will sell beer and wine out of the 20,000-square-foot location at 761 E. Dundee Road, company representative Peter Thomas said.

Thomas said construction should begin next week and they anticipate the store will be ready for the public by the end of August.

Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Batavia-based Aldi operates more than 1,400 stores in 32 states. The nearest Aldi store to Palatine is about two miles away at 1202 W. Dundee Road in Buffalo Grove.