Romeoville Needs More Grocery Stores: Patch Readers

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Romeoville Patch recently posed a question to its readers on Facebook, asking what was one thing they would like to see Romeoville do differently this year.

Readers responded with almost complete unanimity: more grocery stores.

"Another grocery store, please," one reader wrote.

"Grocery store so people don't have to drive to Bolingbrook or somewhere else," another reader commented.

Romeoville does have some grocery shopping options, including a Jewel-Osco, ALDI and a Walmart, which are all located on Weber Road. Romeoville is also home to several small specialty grocers, including Mexican grocery stores Supermercado Jerez and Eli's Market, both on Independence Boulevard; Abi's Market, an African, Caribbean and Hispanic market on Romeo Road; and Euro Homeland Deli on Weber Road.

Village Administrator Dawn Caldwell said there is also an approved Meijer store for Weber Road, a proposal that has been in the works for around a decade. The business is not currently building Illinois stores, but it still plans to eventually build its store in Romeoville, she said.

"Knowing that a Meijer is coming further reduces the viability of a new full-service grocery store," Caldwell said.

"Add a grocery store on Route 53 to service the older part of town," one reader said.

A Jewel-Osco store on Route 53 shuttered decades ago, making way for the current Weber Road location. Franconi's, an Italian grocery store, opened on Route 53 in 2017 but was short-lived and is now an event venue.

Caldwell said the Village has attempted to work with developers to bring a grocery store to Route 53 since Jewel relocated in 2002.

"The Village has offered free land and tax breaks, among other incentives, in order to attract another grocery store to the Route 53 corridor," she said.

Readers also requested that a grocery store go in the old Dominick's location, which closed on Weber Road in 2013.

Caldwell said the lease on the building was bought by Jewel, which prevented another grocer from moving into the space. Only recently did Jewel vacate that lease, she said.

"The Village remains very aggressive as we work with the property owner and listing agents on trying to get a new grocer back-filled into the Dominick’s space," she said. "Recently, the property owner received final approval from Will County for a traffic signal just north of 135th Street which will make this site more attractive for redevelopment."

Caldwell said there are many factors, which are market driven and outside the Village control, in order to justify an investment of a new full-service grocery store.

She noted that almost all new full-service grocers are adaptive reuse of vacant stores.

"It is our understanding that the industry works on a narrow profit margin which makes ground up construction less attractive," she said, adding that the Village remains aggressive in working with developers and users.