Joe Caputo & Sons to open Elk Grove grocery store Friday
At long last, what Elk Grove Village grocery shoppers have been waiting for is about to become true.
Officials announced Tuesday night that Joe Caputo & Sons will open its doors at 7 a.m. Friday at 980 Elk Grove Town Center, inside a 72,000-square-foot space left vacant by Dominick's. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for 9 a.m.
The opening is more than a year in the making, after it was pushed back several times, due at least, in part, to problems with the old Dominick's cooling system. The family-owned company was also busy juggling other locations they own, said Mayor Craig Johnson.
“Caputo's was always going to come folks,” Johnson said at Tuesday's village board meeting. “Yes, (owner) Nat Caputo does exist, Elk Grove. He is coming to Elk Grove and they are going to open in Elk Grove.”
“All the rumor mills and all the gossip can go away — he does exist — it is happening,” Johnson said.
Shelves are now being stocked and the finishing touches are being put on interior improvements in anticipation of Friday's opening.
Since Caputo announced in January 2014 it was acquiring four former Dominick's locations — including the one in Elk Grove — Johnson said the number one question he received was: When is Caputo going to open?
For at least the past year, Johnson provided occasional updates at board meetings, but the opening date kept getting pushed back.
The opening of the Elk Grove location will come about two weeks after the independent grocer shuttered stores in Arlington Heights and Northbrook, which were both former Dominick's locations. Officials said the closures were due to bad business.
The company also has stores in Des Plaines, Palatine and Algonquin.
On Tuesday, Johnson invited Nat Caputo to the board meeting to talk about the newest store.
Caputo said the circular ad that went out to homes this week promoting a four-day post-Thanksgiving sale will also be in effect the weekend before in Elk Grove, starting Friday.
“We're here,” Caputo said. “We're here for the long haul.”
The village board Tuesday approved a liquor license and signage for the store.
Caputo will also be installing temporary signs on Biesterfield Road and Arlington Heights Road to promote its opening over the next four weeks.