Pete's Fresh Market may move into former Dominick's

GLEN ELLYN – Another grocery store may move into the long-vacant Dominick's store in the Baker Hill Center along Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn.

On June 13, Phillips Edison & Company, which owns the shopping center, had Pete's Fresh Market listed as a tenant in the former Dominick's on its website. The 72,397-square-foot space has been vacant since December 2013.

The listing has since been taken down. An agreement with Pete's Fresh Market has yet to be reached, a representative with Phillips Edison said.

In an email, Glen Ellyn Economic Development Coordinator Meredith Hannah said Phillips Edison "is working actively with the village to backfill the former Dominick's store with a quality replacement tenant."

Pete's Fresh Market started in the early 1970s as a small, full-service produce stand on the south side of Chicago and now has several stores in the Chicago area, including in Oakbrook Terrace, Oak Park and Evergreen. Pete's also has several stores in Chicago and plans to open a store in Willowbrook, according to its website.

Last year, Glen Ellyn officials were among several area municipal leaders accusing Jewel-Osco's parent company, Albertsons, with intentionally renewing the leases of vacant Dominick's stores with the intent of keeping them vacant. They said those actions had stifled competition and options for residents.

"We want residents to understand exactly what is going on," then-Village President Alex Demos said after the Nov. 10, 2016, news conference.

Albertsons representatives were invited to the conference, but they declined to attend. Instead, the company released a statement.

"The Albertsons Companies real estate team continue to keep this top of mind and is actively pursuing long term tenants that can open and operate thriving businesses in the local communities," Steve Cogan, senior vice president of real estate and store development for Albertsons Companies, said in a letter to Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico.

In Wheaton, a new Whole Foods Market opened in January in a portion of the former Dominick's store in the Danada Square East shopping center. The market moved from its previous 39,000-square-foot store in the nearby Rice Lake Square shopping center to the new 55,000-square-foot space. The rest of the former Dominick's store is occupied by a Sierra Trading Post, which sells clothing, outdoor gear, sporting goods and other items.