Produce World Skokie is Open for Business

Price-conscious grocery shoppers looking for an alternative to the Jewel across Skokie Boulevard kept track of the exact moment when Steve Pavlopoulos’ new Produce World outlet would begin business in the Fashion Square shopping center.

And with just a few small exceptions, Pavlopoulos was ready for his customers when he finally flung open the doors last week.

Fully stocked except for some planned hot-food displays around his deli area, the Greek immigrant now turned grocery store mogul spent much of his time greeting the first shoppers, some of whom required merely a walk across the parking lot from the Barcelona condo complex.

First through the doors was Kara Kacyn and her husband, Mike, who are among Produce World’s neighbors.

“I waited for them to open,” Kacyn said. “Every time I passed by, the window was covered. I imagined one day they’d be open. This morning I had my list made up.  I was going to go to another [store]. But then I said to my husband, let’s ask why are there so many cars in the lot?  We passed by and saw the sign that they’re open.”

Barcelona Condominiums resident Don Rosenberg, 80, believes the 400-some residents of his complex will help provide a steady customer base for the new Produce World.

“I put a note up in my building saying you’re opening the 23^rd or 24^th,” he told Pavlopoulos.

‘Soft’ opening takes off the pressure

Pavlopoulos and his partners decided on a “soft” opening on Thursday for his third Produce World store. During a soft open, a store opens its doors for business a few days before the grand opening. That way, the staff can get real time experience without the added pressure. That gave time for employees to work out the kinks and fully stock the shelves, Pavlopoulos said.

Pavlopoulos originally wanted to open his first store in Skokie more than 20 years ago, but could not agree on a lease. Instead, he began his business in Morton Grove, then on Chicago’s far Northwest Side. The Morton Grove location, long established at Dempster Street and Waukegan Road,  recently moved to an expanded store three blocks west near Harlem and Dempster.

“Obviously, the mall attracts other people, so they’re going to come in out of curiosity to see what’s going on,” said Pavlopoulos. “Within five, six days, we’ll be fully stocked with everything, if not sooner.”

Read more:

Pavlopoulos plans a bigger kosher food line, reflecting the ethnic background of the Skokie store compared to the other Produce World outlets.

He shifted some employees over from the other stores, while hiring between 30 or 40 new staffers. The employee rolls are apparently full. A sign posted on the door cautioned no new applications were being taken.

One brand-new employee was meats/seafood department manager Frank Giannopoulos, a 15-year grocery-store veteran. He and his staff of five are all new employees.

“I heard about the job here through friends,” he said. “I came in and talked to the owners. This place opens up and generates a lot of jobs and potential for people to move up in the company. It’s a good place to work for.”

Customers: "We want better service than chain stores"

Pavlopoulos said he does not pay attention to how competition like the Jewel across the street operates. But his new customers are not satisfied with what they perceive as an overpriced and understaffed operation in the chain grocery. Jewel usually does not have more than four manned checkout lanes open at any one time, prompting long waits, Pavlopoulos said.

“I usually don’t shop in the Jewel because the prices are too expensive for the products I buy,” Kacyn said.  “They have enough (checkers). I always have to be in line, any time of the day, it doesn’t matter. They never have enough help.”

Said Rosenberg: “A lot of people don’t like it. But they had no choice. I told people this is a nice store. This is convenient. We can walk here.”

Stay Connected to Local Business News - Like Skokie Patch on Facebook

Get Breaking News Alerts in Your Inbox - Sign Up for our Newsletter