Amazon Fresh in Arlington Heights in limbo, while other grocer closes and another rebrands
Three grocery stores in Arlington Heights, each with a different story: One just closed, another is being revamped amid ownership change, while the third is in limbo.
Signs for a long-rumored Amazon Fresh grocery store at the Town & Country Shopping Center came down almost as quickly as they went up, leaving shoppers wondering whether the e-commerce giant's brick-and-mortar supermarket ever is coming to town.
Village officials confirmed Amazon has a lease for the 50,000-square-foot big-box space at Arlington Heights and Palatine roads, but it's unclear if or when the retailer plans to open a store there.
"It's unfortunate that they haven't opened by now," said Charles Witherington-Perkins, the village's director of planning and community development. "We know several Amazon Fresh stores were built out in the Chicago market that are similar to ours. And with what's been happening in the economy and their business, our understanding is they've basically put a pause on the expansion of the Amazon Fresh stores and they're examining their business model. What that means going forward, we don't know yet."
The company appears to be trying to find its place in the marketplace amid changing consumer buying habits coming out of the pandemic. Many are buying direct from online and utilizing curbside pickup and delivery services, while other big-box competitors such as Target and Walmart have had success by adding grocery components of their own, Perkins noted.
And the Chicago market, in particular, always has been competitive, he added.
It's possible Amazon revamps its grocery program and rolls its built-out stores into that, he said, but village officials don't really know the company's short- or long-term plans.
An Amazon spokesperson didn't return a request for comment.
The village board in late 2020 awarded shopping center owner Visconsi Cos., nearly $1.4 million in tax increment financing dollars to help pay for upgrades and site improvements that would bring the then-anonymous grocer and Raising Cane's fast-food eatery to town. Renovations to the store interior started in 2021, and building signage for Amazon Fresh went up in June 2022. Then, they were taken down in recent weeks.
Perkins confirmed money from the village's TIF 5 - a fund in which incremental property taxes above a set level are redirected from schools and other governmental agencies - was remitted to the shopping center owner. Perkins said the investment would be reflected in higher property tax proceeds for local governments because of the site upgrades, though it's not as high as an operating retail space.
"What we're not gaining is the sales tax and the foot traffic generated that would help the other businesses in the shopping center," Perkins said. "That's what we're really after."
Meanwhile, at the nearby Arlington Plaza shopping center at Rand and Arlington Heights roads, Harvest Fresh Market closed its doors in early May after 20 years in business. The independent grocer specialized in produce, a bakery and butcher shop. Perkins said he was trying to find out additional details about the closure from the property owner.
And on the south side of town, an ownership change is leading to a rebranding and renovations for a grocery store at 450 E. Golf Road. Brookhaven Marketplace, which operates stores in Darien, Mokena and Burr Ridge, recently purchased the Arlington Heights store from Value Fresh Market. The latter grocer ran the store for about a year, after it had operated as the flagship Valli Produce since 1989.
Brookhaven co-owner John Manos said his business partners have been eyeing the Northwest suburbs for years but only recently found an opportunity.
"We're a bit of a specialty store," Manos said. "We import things ourselves from Europe. We have a large eastern European clientele. There's a good concentration of that here, including our family and friends. So we've been looking at the area for sometime."