Mariano's Watch: Roundy's Exec Addresses Readers’ Most FAQs

A Roundy’s executive has confirmed that the Mariano’s store slated for construction at 111th Street and Cicero Avenue is still on.

Mariano's will anchor the new development called the Stony Creek Promenade.

The project will be built in two phases, beginning with a 72,000-square-foot Mariano’s, an as-yet-to-be-named bank, and three retail spaces, including a sit-down restaurant, and water feature.

We asked James Hyland, a corporate executive for Roundy’s, Inc., the parent company of Mariano’s, to address readers’ most oft-asked questions and crazy Facebook rumors. Hyland is the vice president of investor relations and corporate communications for the retail grocery company.

Patch: Is Mariano’s still coming to Oak Lawn?

Hyland:  Our pipeline of planned locations, of which Oak Lawn is one, has not changed and we look forward to bringing the Mariano’s experience to Oak Lawn.

Patch: Has Mariano’s signed a lease yet? Is the lease contingent on another big retail tenant signing on?

Hyland: We do have a signed lease for the future Mariano’s Oak Lawn store. We are still working on finalizing construction drawings for the store and will break ground in the spring.

Patch: Why isn’t construction taking place now in the winter?

Hyland:  It makes more sense to break ground in spring rather than absorb winter construction conditions for construction initiation.

Patch: Recently a list of Chicago-area Mariano’s slated for construction and opening in 2014 was published in a news story. The list included the new Mariano’s in Evergreen Park, but did not mention Oak Lawn. Why?

Hyland: At Roundy’s, we use a controlled growth approach for our real estate build-outs. Our plan is five organically built Mariano’s stores per year until we reach 50 stores in the Chicagoland metropolitan area. We currently have 13 stores with five under construction for 2014 and 11 acquired Dominick’s stores scheduled to go through a short-term remodel in 2014 and a longer-term remodel over the next two to three years. The five 2014 Mariano’s builds you refer to are: Lake Zurich, Ravenswood-Chicago, Bucktown-Chicago, Evergreen Park and Glenview.

As you can see, our plate is full for 2014 and at the end of the year, we will have 29 Mariano’s locations in operation.

Patch: When will the Oak Lawn Mariano’s open?

Hyland: The store will be an early 2015 opening although no exact date has yet been established.