Dominick’s pulling out of Chicago

According to the Chicago Tribune, Dominick’s grocery stores, will be leaving the Chicago market by next year. Safeway Inc., parent company of Dominick’s is the second largest grocery chain and currently has 72 Dominick’s supermarkets in Chicagoland.

To read the complete article, visit the Tribune Web site.

Will you miss Dominick’s? In the South Loop, we’re the opposite of a food desert, with Whole Foods, Target, Trader Joe’s, Jewel, and now Mariano’s grocery stores all within a mile of each other.

2011 State of the South Loop This Saturday

The Third Annual State of the South Loop will take place this Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 9 a.m. at the Daystar Center 1550 S. State St. The meeting will include updates from 2nd and 3rd Ward aldermen: Bob Fioretti and Pat Dowell, respectively. The State of the South Loop is planned and organized by the Greater South Loop Association.

The 2010 State of the South Loop attracted a large crowd.

It was at last year’s State of the South Loop where we learned about Trader Joe’s going into the space at Roosevelt Rd. and Wabash Ave. What exciting news might this year’s meeting bring?

Tentative Agenda:

9:00 a.m. – Meet and Greet: Coffee with refreshments

9:30 a.m. – Meeting begins

• South Loop Community Information: Metropolitan Pier presentation on Hyatt hotel expansion
• Policing update from a representative from the CAPS office
  Update from the Alliance for a Greener South Loop
• and more!

Trader Joe’s: Grand Opening Day!

It’s Open!
The long-awaited grand opening of the new Trader Joe’s at Roosevelt Rd. and Wabash Ave. happened this morning. A brief ribbon cutting ceremony, with 2nd Ward Alderman, Bob Fioretti and Trader Joe’s management, took place before a sizable crowd was gathered outside waiting for the store doors to open. After the ceremony, customers, carts in hand, immediately entered the store and started shopping. It was an exciting morning for residents of the South Loop.

"Trader Joe's Grand Opening!"

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Bright And Open
The store interior is bright and open. The aisles are wider than the average Trader Joe’s, which will make shopping much more pleasant. Check out these first-look photos and brief video and see for yourself.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Trader Joe's in the South Loop

Trader Joe's: Making Progress

The parking lot construction at the future Trade Joe's on Roosevelt and Wabash looks lilke it's progressing nicely.

Underground parking entrance is on the left.

South Loop Roundup

It's Spring, Right?
This week the weather turned downright wintry. I couldn’t believe I was wearing earmuffs and down in mid-April. Still, I was out and about in and around the South Loop where there were some interesting sights to see.

The wood exterior of Gioco is sanded down

Closed for Renovations
Gioco's reopening date is a bit unclear, but what is clear is the space is getting a makeover. Workers were sanding down the wood exterior this morning. They updated the message on the restaurant’s answering machine; it says they’re closed temporarily for remodeling. This is an improvement over the previous message that said they didn’t know when they were reopening or why they were closed in the first place. The signs outside the restaurant and the new phone message encourage us to visit Gioco’s Web site, but it still hasn’t been updated to reflect the closure or renovations. Here’s hoping Gioco opens soon.

Construction is underway at Roosevelt and Wabash

Trader Joe's to Open in 2011
There are some rumors around town that the opening of the new Trader Joe’s coming to Roosevelt Rd. and Wabash Ave. has been delayed. I thought I’d contact Trader Joe’s corporate offices to check on the progress. In an e-mail response to my query they said, “We do not currently have a date set but are hoping for late this year [2011].” Not sure that clears things up, but the assumption from the start was that the store wouldn’t be open before the fall of this year.

Printers Row in bloom

Walking near Printer’s Row, I saw this burst of spring and had to take a picture of it. The day was cold and a bit blustery, but this flowering tree was in full bloom.

Just another bus on the sidewalk

Bus Stop, Bus Stop
It isn’t every day that you see a bus on the sidewalk, but this one parked at  the correctional facility on Clark and Van Buren.

The fountain at Chicago Women's Park and Garden

Bubbling Up
Buckingham isn't the only fountain in the city. The fountain at Chicago Women's Park and Gardens is open for the season and bubbling forth in the shadow of the Clarke House Museum.

Trader Joe's: The "Traditional Press" Catches up

What we can to look forward to when Trader Joe's comes to town

If you've been reading this blog or following folks on Twitter or Facebook, you know this is old news, but here it is from Crain's.

Trader Joe's plans new grocery store in South Loop Consumer Crain's Chicago Business