Grocery chic: Instead of a quick stop for bread and milk, it looks like north suburbanites can soon have a grocery shopping experience. Look for Byerly’s Supermarket, the gourmet food emporium based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, to open its Chicago area flagship store in Highland Park next year.
Catering to the upscale market, with carpeting and wall coverings as decor and extensive wine, deli and seafood departments, bagel bar and a yogurt/ice cream/espresso bar among its offerings, Byerly’s officials say their trademarks are variety, ambience and service.
“We’re not clangy, bangy. The atmosphere is warm,” said Byerly’s President and CEO Thomas Harberts.
The supermarket, which will cover more than 70,000 square feet of the former Z-Frank car dealership at U.S. Highway 41 and Park Avenue, will also include a pharmacy, a 190-seat restaurant and a bakery with chef.
The Highland Park store will be the 25-year-old supermarket chain’s first venture away from the Twin Cities. “We’ve received hundreds of letters over the years from people in the Chicago area asking us to come. This area indicated more interest in our store than any other,” Harberts said. Harberts added that the company is eyeing the Oak Brook and Barrington areas as future sites.