Whole Foods to close Englewood store on November 13
The video above is from a previous report
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Whole Foods will be closing its store in Englewood in November, after announcing in April that it was shutting down that location, as well as a store in the DePaul University Welcome Center in Lincoln Park.
While the DePaul location closed down in May, it wasn't until Wednesday that Whole Foods revealed a specific closing date for the Englewood store, which will close on Nov. 13.
A Whole Foods spokesperson said eligible employees at the Englewood store will be able to transfer to other locations if they wish. Those who do not take positions at other stores will be offered severance packages.
The April announcement of the looming closure of the Englewood store was a major blow for the neighborhood, which had celebrated its opening only six years ago, at the time bringing an end to a food desert in the neighborhood. Although another grocery store, Go Green Community Fresh Market, opened in Englewood earlier this year, and there is also an Aldi grocery store on 63rd Street, the loss of Whole Foods will reduce the available grocery options for the neighborhood.
"We have very, very limited access to smoothies, to fresh fruit, to a bright-lit store," community leader Asiaha Butler of R.A.G.E. Englewood said in April.
When the store opened, a line wrapped around the brand-new Whole Foods, with crowds out front and a shoppers packed inside.
As CBS 2 reported in April, the 2016 opening was a big deal in Englewood. The Whole Foods was first store of its kind on the city's South Side – which meant something to a community that, at the time, was living in a food desert.
The store anchors a larger commercial complex at the corner of 63rd and Halsted Streets. Ahead of construction of that shopping center, the City Council voted in 2014 to spend $10 million in tax increment financing to prepare the city-owned land to be used for the site for future construction, including environmental remediation and infrastructure work. After that work was completed, the city sold the land to the developer of the Englewood Square shopping complex for $1, according to a spokesman for the city's Department of Planning and Development.
At the time the Whole Foods opened in Englewood, the company hailed its efforts to team up with 35 local businesses that would be providing products to be sold at the store.
The Whole Foods in Englewood was the chain's first store on the South Side of Chicago, and at the time, the company said it was excited to expand to the South Side.
"We have been looking to expand further south for many years and this new store will help offer more Chicagoans fresh, high quality foods right in their neighborhood. We're excited to work together with the city and local community long before we open our actual doors to build a custom store that meets the needs of Englewood," said Whole Foods regional president Michael Bashaw at the time.
Chicago Department of Planning and Development Deputy Commissioner Peter Strazzabosco said in April that the property where the Englewood Square Shopping Center that includes Whole Foods now stands was city-owned prior to development. The city spent $10 million to prepare the land for future construction.
The funding for preparing the land comes from the city's Tax Increment Financing program, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax revenue to projects in designated districts across the city.
Strazzabosco said Whole Foods did not directly receive any TIF funds or other assistance from the city.
We talked to a number of people really disappointed to hear the store is one of six Whole Foods stores closing nationwide.
"I'm shocked that they're closing," Orzella Denton said in April.
"I did like the model in which they entered, but I hate the model of which they're exiting," Butler said.
Once the Englewood store closes, Whole Foods will have only two stores south of Madison Street in Chicago -- in the South Loop and Hyde Park -- with eight stores north of Madison. There are eight stores north of Madison.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued the following statement in April on the closing of the Englewood Whole Foods:
"Amazon's decision to close stores in Englewood and Lincoln Park as part of a nationwide closure of stores is obviously disappointing. My immediate worry is for the workers in both locations. Amazon must now take clear steps to protect those workers as they transition to new opportunities. Having been in both of those stores many times over the years, I saw first-hand how those workers gave their heart and soul to make the stores a success. Together with both communities and local elected leaders, my administration will work to repurpose these locations in a way that continues to serve the community and support the surrounding businesses. We as a city will continue to work hard to close food deserts that meet community needs with community at the table."
DL3 Realty developed the mall. The owner, Leon Walker, told CBS 2 in April that he is optimistic they'll find another store to fill the Whole Foods space. He calls this a good opportunity for the neighborhood.