Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Edgewater Mariano's to Open Tuesday Featuring Gelato, Grilling Station

By Benjamin Woodard | April 21, 2014 8:54am
 Workers prepare Monday to open Edgewater's first Mariano's.
Workers prepare Monday to open Edgewater's first Mariano's.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard

EDGEWATER — Edgewater's first Mariano's, opening Tuesday, will feature gelato, smoothies, sushi and a grilling station.

But the grocer's founder, Bob Mariano, says he's not done yet.

"We're not 100 percent there, but we'll get there over time," he said of the former Dominick's at 5201 N. Sheridan Road. "Over the next 18 months, we'll totally revamp the store."

The store is one of 11 former Dominick's locations that Roundy's, the parent company of Mariano's, has bought in the Chicago area, three of which are in the city. The Milwaukee-based company has already opened three stores in former Dominick's in the suburbs.

"I don't have any hobbies — I don't golf, I don't sail. I just open stores," Mariano said inside the store Monday. "So this is really a rush for me. It doesn't get old, it doesn't get boring."

The Edgewater store will open at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Mariano said.

Some of the city's elected officials couldn't be happier Monday.

"I can't tell you how overjoyed I am to be here with you," Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) said.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the store, which has hired 400 employees, would boost the neighborhood's economy.

"This is a place where a community comes together," he said. "It's a sense of vibrancy for a community's economic development."

Some of the store's features include a gelato bar, a sushi bar, a smoothie station and a grilling station, which will allow shoppers to get any cut of meat or seafood sold at the store seasoned and cooked for free.

"This is the most exciting feature," store manager Megan Gleeson said. "You can have a restaurant-quality meal for less than half the price."

Mariano also presented a $2,500 check from the Roundy's Foundation to Lyle Allen of Care For Real, a food pantry just up the block.