Local

Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc., is gearing up to open a 68,000-square-foot supermarket at the site of The Lattof Chevrolet building on Northwest Highway, southeast of downtown Chicago, in Arlington Heights, Ill.

The Fresh Grocer, a supermarket chain committed to developing new stores in communities previously overlooked by growing businesses, cuts the ribbon today on its first green, eco-friendly store in northwest Philadelphia, near La Salle University. It’s the eighth store opening since The Fresh Grocer began in 1996; the next Philadelphia location is expected in Progress Plaza this December.

Seattle voters rejected a tax on paper and plastic shopping bags a local election yesterday by voting against Referendum 1, which would have imposed at a 20-cent per bag tax in the city of Seattle. Nearly 60 percent of voters rejected the referendum.

Longo’s, a family-run grocery chain with 18 stores in the greater Toronto area, took part in the “Count Me In! Community Challenge,” a friendly competition among over 80 communities in the province of Ontario.

Meijer, Inc. signed an agreement Friday to open a 192,000-square-foot store anchoring the new $90-million Shoppes at Gateway Park retail development, marking the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based superstore operator’s first Detroit location, according to a published report.

The California Independent Grocers Association (CIGA) recently chalked up a victory in the state legislature, defeating a bill that would have had serious consequences for grocery and convenience stores.

The Kroger Co.’s Dayton division and United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 75 have ratified a new labor contract covering more than 4,000 associates who work in 30 stores in Dayton and the surrounding areas.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is alleging that Louisiana grocery chain Rouses is engaging in such obstructionist behavior as calling the police to arrest workers and other union members trying to talk to associates about organizing a labor union, thereby denying their First Amendment right to assembly.