Mount Prospect celebrates - finally - a downtown grocer

As the aisles hummed with customers pulling items from packed shelves Wednesday, visitors to Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets in downtown Mount Prospect might have been fooled into thinking the store had been operating for years.

But all the business-as-usual activity camouflaged that Wednesday's opening day for the store at 207 S. Maple St. was a much-anticipated and momentous occasion for Mount Prospect leaders and residents of its downtown.

Mayor Paul Hoefert even compared the anticipation of the opening to the expectation he experienced awaiting the Apollo moon landing.

"This is bigger than that," he said.

Hoefert was joined for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for past and current village officials and several members of the Caputo family were on hand, including General Manager Robertino Presta Jr., the grandson of company founder Angelo Caputo.

"I couldn't even sleep last night," Presta said of his excitement over the store opening.

Store officials said fresh food would be delivered to the location daily, with items such as soups, sauces, deli salads, hot foods and baked goods made from scratch at the corporate commissary in Carol Stream and brought to the store the same day.

Other highlights include a wide selection of cheeses, intriguing prepared foods such as a sausage kebab, and a bar with drinks on tap.

This is the ninth Angelo Caputo's location in the suburbs, with a 10th coming soon to Norridge.

Mount Prospect officials had been working to bring a grocery store downtown for years. They finally landed one in 2020, when Caputo's - lured by a nearly $1.5 million incentive package from the village - announced it would open within the Maple Street Lofts development.

But the store's opening was delayed by supply chain problems.

"Everything from shelving to controls for the refrigeration system has been challenging." Robertino said.

Village Manager Michael Cassady said Wednesday that the final product is "100% worth the wait."

Among those who celebrated the opening was former Mayor Arlene Juracek, who gathered the raw materials for a Cinco de Mayo feast. She said one of the advantages of Caputo's is she can walk to the store from home.

Fellow shopper Selma Sarkic, who works in a bank across the street, said she likely will visit the store for lunch and shop for her family after work.

"I think it's absolutely great," she said. "It's something that the community here needed. It's going to make a lot of people happy, myself included."