Save-A-Lot Readies for Five New Chicago Stores
Save-A-Lot, the St. Louis-based hard-discount, limited-assortment retailer, will bow five new stores in Chicago’s South Side neighborhoods this Thursday, Feb. 24 in a move that will nearly double its presence in the area.
With the openings, Save-A-Lot will operate 13 Chicagoland stores, and expects to open five additional locations in the greater Chicago area by February 2012.
“Chicago long has been a priority market for Save-A-Lot, and we’re thrilled to be adding five more South Side stores,” said Bill Shaner, Save-A-Lot CEO and president. “These locations are a perfect match with our strategy of bringing affordable groceries and more fresh-food options to neighborhoods with few existing grocery stores.”
The new Chicago stores are located at:
8240 S. Stony Island Ave.
148 W. 79th St.
344 E. 63rd St.
6858 S. Aberdeen St.
6701 S. Western Ave.
Working with neighborhood staffing agencies, the wholly owned Supervalu subsidiary has hired more than 100 employees from the local community for its new stores. The five South Side stores range in size from 11,000 to 21,000 square feet. All of the stores are located in formerly vacant retail properties, which the company has completely renovated.
“We were fortunate to find some great locations that other retailers and businesses had left, and we greatly appreciate the support of local community leaders as we continue to expand our presence in Chicago,” said Shaner, noting his company’s commitment to providing consumers with savings of up to 40 percent on their primary food needs vs. traditional grocers.
Save-A-Lot stores offer a carefully selected mix of 1,200 to 1,500 of the most popular branded and private label products, including fruits and vegetables, USDA-inspected meat and dairy, and a full line of baby and household products.
Nationally, Save-A-Lot, which recently passed the 1,200-store mark, announced in 2010 that it plans to double its number of locations to more than 2,400 in the next five years. Throughout this expansion, there will be a continued emphasis on growth in urban markets and areas known as “food deserts,” where there is little-to-no access to healthier foods.
To celebrate the opening of its new Chicago stores, Save-A-Lot will hold a “Dollar-Cutting Ceremony” at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 3, at its Stony Island location. A $25,000 donation will be made to support the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Community representatives from the Garfield Workforce Center, Greater Chicago Food Depository and Centers for New Horizons; Chicago elected officials; and company executives including Shaner, Supervalu CEO Craig Herkert and Save-A-Lot regional director Ron Munson, will be on hand for the grand opening celebration.
On Monday, Feb. 28, in advance of the grand opening celebration, Save-A-Lot will deliver a free assortment of its exclusive, private-label brand products to residents within a quarter-mile radius of each of its new Chicago stores.