Roundy's to Open 10-12 Chicago Stores in Next 3 Years

MILWAUKEE -- Roundy's Supermarkets here said yesterday it plans to enter the Chicago marketplace during the next three years with between 10 and 12 stores that will focus on fresh foods. In an interview with SN, Robert A. Mariano, chairman and chief executive officer of the 153-store chain, said the Chicago stores will carry a new name that does not now appear on any of the chain's stores (Pick 'n Save, Copps and Rainbow Foods). Although the store will be similar to the Metro Market that Roundy's opened in the downtown area here, it will not carry that name either, Mariano said. "That [Metro] store was a learning experience for us in terms of product offerings and services. The Chicago stores will go beyond those learnings." The first store Roundy's plans to open in Chicago -- scheduled for 2008 -- will be in a diverse area on the city's North Side, on the site of the New City YMCA on North Halstead Street. Mariano knows the Chicago market well, having spent 26 years with locally based Dominick's, including a term as president and CEO from 1995 until it was sold to Safeway in 1998. Noting that Dominick's is closing some locations, Mariano said Roundy's "might be interested in [acquiring] some of them." -- Elliot Zwiebach