Hairston Gives Mariano's CEO Tour Of Possible Store Sites In South Shore
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), who earlier criticized the Mariano's grocery store chain for ignoring her ward, has taken the company's top man on a tour of possible sites to open a new store.
WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports Hairston was incensed in May when Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Roundy's CEO Bob Mariano announced a new Mariano Fresh Market in the Bronzeville neighborhood, while her ward was still looking for a store to replace the shuttered Dominick's at 71st Street and Jeffery Boulevard.
Hairston said she felt her part of the city had been "cordoned off."
On Monday, tensions with the Mariano's chain appeared to have eased, as Hairston took Bob Mariano on a tour of several possible sites for a new store in her ward on the South Side.
"I showed him at least seven sites that were viable for building a grocery store there," she said.
Hairston said she hopes Mariano's will open a store in the South Shore neighborhood. What would that say about South Shore if he doesn't?
"It says absolutely nothing about the community, because at the end a day, we're still a community that's in need of a grocery store," she said.
Hariston said some other grocery stores are interested in opening there.