Journey to Village Fresh Market started in Greece

At 3:30 a.m. this morning, Gus Tzotzolis started his day as he does every day of the week.

His first destination is the Chicago International Produce Market, a 26-acre facility where wholesale produce is sold to grocery stores and restaurants.

He stays, making his purchases, until about 10 a.m. He then heads back to Carpentersville to stock the produce department of the new Village Fresh Market, which opened April 9 on Lake Marian Road at Route 25.

If you enter the store on the produce side, you will immediately become aware of the fruits of Tzotzolis' labor. The smell of fresh fruits and vegetables is refreshing, and the many different selections are arranged like works of art in their stands. Beyond that is a full grocery store, complete with a deli, meat department and bakery.

Tzotzolis, along with his two partners Jerry Kosmetatos and Peter Koumbis, has invested nearly $4 million on the new store. It was previously a Jewel supermarket, which vacated the property in August 2006, leaving nearby residents with no convenient place to shop for groceries.

As Janice Murphy, economic development coordinator for the village of Carpentersville, explained, the village negotiated a sales-tax incentive capped at $250,000 with Tzotzolis, to be paid on the local sales tax at a 50-50 rate.

"The building is really beautiful, and a very welcome addition to the east side," said Murphy.

Tzotzolis' produce roots were laid in Kaparelli, Greece, where his father was a farmer.

"It's not like over here. We had six or seven acres of land and we grew tomatoes, green peppers, watermelon and cantaloupes. I learned about produce from that. I loved it," said Tzotzolis.

In 1968 he came to Chicago to play professional soccer for a Greek team in the Metropolitan Soccer League. As he played on the team, its members also helped him find additional work. He worked as a painter, which led him to the top of the John Hancock building to paint the antenna, and later they helped him open a small fruit market in 1971 at Grand Avenue, Kedzie Avenue and Augusta Boulevard. It was 1,000 square feet.

It was also around that time that he met his wife, Joanne, through a good friend of his who also happened to be her brother. Tzotzolis became a U.S. citizen in 1974.

From there he grew his business by adding additional, bigger locations. He opened a 3,500-square-foot location at California and Milwaukee avenues, a 2,500 foot store at Grand Avenue, Division Street, and Central Park Avenue, and another 4,000 feet on North Central Avenue. By 1991, he had sold the first two stores and headed out to the suburbs. He opened his first grocery store in Aurora -- 7,000 square feet -- and followed it up with 10,000 square feet in Elgin on Summit Street.

In 2000, Tzotzolis and two partners opened their Villa Park store. That same year, he had a heart attack.

"The doctor told me no more work, but always I had on my mind this area over here," he said.

"I've know Frank Scarpelli (who owns several properties on the east side) the last five or six years. He told me the Jewel is going to move out, so I jumped in. It took me almost a year and a half to build it like I wanted it. I liked the location. I have the business inside of my heart. I love it so much."

Right now Tzotzolis owns the store in Carpentersville and the one in Villa Park. His son Bobby and his daughter Maria's husband, Frank, own the location on Summit and have also opened another on McLean Boulevard in Elgin. His youngest daughter, Litsa, lives in Italy with her husband, Lorenzo, and their two sons.

Our new east-side store has 16,500 square feet of selling space, with an additional 17,500 feet in the building available for lease. There are currently 60 employees.

Tzotzolis said he liked the location because there are few grocery stores nearby.

While that is sure to contribute to his success, word is already traveling. He met some customers from Algonquin and Crystal Lake this weekend.

They may have come a long way just for a grocery store.

But so did he.

• If you have any news about your club, school, church, business, neighbor, or even yourself, contact Kirstin Finneran by cell at (312) 518-4993 or e-mail at kirstinfinneran@comcast.net.