Woodman’s to open Thursday in Lakemoor

A new Woodman’s Food Market location in Lakemoor is set to open this Thursday.

Brian Usinger, store manager for the Lakemoor Woodman’s, said they do not have an exact time set to open, but it should be sometime mid-morning.

“We’ll hang the banners prior to opening,” he said.

About 240 people currently are employed at the store, but Usinger said they will continue hiring after they open.

In October, the store is planning a “grand opening” with a ribbon cutting, giveaways and door prizes, Usinger said.

Usinger said the Lakemoor location will be similar to Buffalo Grove’s, without the sushi, although it will have hot foods, including rotisserie chicken.

People have been calling “every five minutes” to see when the store is going to open, Usinger said.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “We had to put signs on the doors to stop people from walking in. It [stinks] to tell people we’re not open yet, but we’re almost there.”

The phone calls started when the employees arrived in July.

Usinger said anticipation for the store has been high.

“I live in McHenry, and my neighbors ask when we’re opening,” he said, citing word of mouth and social media as the reason why. “I think Woodman’s has such a unique grocery store environment.”

Because of this uniqueness, Usinger said the store has built up a “pretty good following.”

“Many people are familiar with us from Carpentersville, Kenosha [Wisconsin],” he said.

Woodman’s is employee-owned and headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin.