After 7-year delay, Tony's Fresh Market presenting plans to open in Schaumburg this year
A long-delayed plan to bring a Tony's Fresh Market grocery store to the vacant former Dominick's location in Schaumburg's Town Square development could be fulfilled by the end of the year.
The project will go before Schaumburg's zoning board of appeals for a recommendation Wednesday, and then the village board for possible final approval on July 26.
"We're working closely with Tony's and its consultants to get this project moving forward," Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said.
The 65,000-square-foot Dominick's at 200 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg closed at the end of 2013, along with what remained of the grocery store chain at that time.
Itasca-based Tony's bought the vacant building in the summer of 2015 with the intention of a quick renovation and opening.
But company officials found their plans blocked by a long-term lease held by Albertsons - the parent company of both Dominick's and Jewel - that included potential extensions stretching to 2036.
Efforts to negotiate an end to the lease never completely stopped but met with little progress for years.
Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly made removal of the redevelopment roadblock a priority for the village upon his 2019 election. Albertsons finally ended its lease renewals on May 31, 2021.
In September, Schaumburg trustees voted 5-1 to provide $3 million in village funding for the $13 million renovation of the store, as well as recommend a Cook County property tax break for Tony's.
The business is expected to create 200 new jobs and bring the village more than $300,000 in annual sales taxes, and food and beverage taxes.
Trustee Mark Madej cast the dissenting vote, saying he believes a theater or some other type of entertainment venue would be a more effective new anchor for Town Square than a grocery store.
Frank said Tony's wouldn't pursue the project without village assistance, as it otherwise wouldn't break even for more than five years.
One more surprise awaited the village this spring when it learned that the Itasca-based grocery store chain was being acquired by Apollo Funds, affiliates of New York-based Apollo Global Management.
But Frank said he was consistently assured that the acquisition would not affect Tony's interest in the Schaumburg location.