If you’re a Chicago-area consumer and a Mariano’s fan, you may want to start preparing for a change. Three of Mariano’s grocery stores in the suburbs are scheduled to close next month—a step in a larger plan by parent firm Kroger to trim back across the U.S.
The closings are just part of what Kroger calls a “company-wide decision” to get more efficient and shore up its long-term finances. Sure, maybe that will work out in terms of profitability, but it is certainly going to hurt loyal customers and local employees.
Here are the closing dates and locations
As relayed to a Kroger spokesperson, the following Mariano’s stores will close permanently in August:
- Buffalo Grove: 450 Half Day Rd. — closing August 8
- Bloomingdale: 244 S. Gary Ave. — closes August 15
- Northbrook (Glenview West): 2323 Capital Dr. — closes August 22
The store closures follow the unexpected and prior abrupt closing of another Mariano’s at Northfield, located at 1822 Willow Rd., which closed several months ahead of schedule earlier this summer.
To many locals, these markets aren’t just a place to grab some groceries—they’re community hubs. The loss will have a ripple impact on everything from last-minute dinner plans to regular shopping excursions.
Why are these markets closing?
Kroger has called these store closures a “difficult decision,” commenting further that it’s part of a bigger effort to be more efficient and help ensure the future of the company. In June, Kroger’s quarterly report revealed a $100 million impairment charge, which sparked the initiative to close underperforming stores.
In the next 18 months, as many as 60 stores belonging to Kroger across the country are expected to shut down. Kroger has some popular brands like Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter, King Soopers, and QFC.
Kroger insists that though these store closures will affect some short-term change, they foresee a “modest financial gain” and plan to reinvest savings in enriching the customer experience. Workers let go by these store closures will purportedly be offered jobs at nearby Kroger-owned stores.
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What about the Kroger-Albertsons merger?
Those closings follow months after a federal judge spurned a $24.6 billion merger of Kroger and Albertsons, the parent of Jewel-Osco. In that proposed deal, both firms committed to selling off some stores to satisfy regulators, but the transaction did not occur.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul was one of the attorneys general in a group that blocked the merger through a bipartisan lawsuit that warned the merger would weaken competition and potentially drive up consumers’ prices.
With the merger blocked, Kroger appears to be heading inward, reducing operations and investing once more into its standalone stores.
What does this mean for shoppers?
If you are a customer at one of the affected stores of Mariano’s, it is time to start making your transition plans. It may be longer trips for food or altering your regular store for produce, meat, and specials of the week.
But Kroger maintains that it’s all in the name of creating a more “sustainable future” for the company and consumers. Whether that will fly with the average consumer remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: these three stores will be a footnote in Chicago suburb history shortly.
