ORLAND PARK, IL — Orland Park said goodbye to Art Van Furniture, formerly located at 15080 S. LaGrange Road, and will soon be saying hello to Pete’s Fresh Market as its replacement. This decision comes after Orland Park officials agreed on incentives for the chain to open a location in the village.
According to the request for action report for the project, Pete’s Fresh Market is a family-owned and operated grocery store, that provides fresh produce and thousands of top-quality groceries and imports; including international, gluten-free and organic products. Each location has a full-service kitchen, bakery and deli. The independent chain currently operates 16 different locations around the Chicagoland area.
The village board gave a green light on a sales tax sharing agreement at Monday night’s Board of Trustees meeting. The deal with the grocery store would, in return, receive $3 million for the business in a span of up to 10 years. The agreement could end sooner if the $3 million is met prior. The village will be splitting the sales tax revenue brought in by Pete’s in half.
The project will include the redevelopment of the Art Van building into an approximately 65,000 square foot, full-service Pete’s Fresh Market grocery store, according to the report. The entirety of the project is anticipated to be approximately $12 million, including 50 percent sharing of sales tax, the ten-year term agreement, job creation and retention; the store is expected to bring in around 165 full and part-time jobs, according to the report.
Second-generation owner of Pete’s, Stephanie Dremonas, told the board the chain is “off to the races” and that if everything goes as planned, it would take a year to finish construction. Dremonas said Pete’s hopes to have the building plans in review by the end of the year. The owner said she hopes to have the “shovel in the ground” by spring.
“The Art Van did a nice job with infrastructure and the façade, but it’s not a Pete’s Market,” Dremonas said. “We have to do the refrigeration, plumbing, mechanical… the whole shebang. It has to feel and look like a Pete’s Market from top to finish.”
Dremonas said the chain owns the site of Terry’s Lincoln auto dealership in Orland Park on 143rd Street and LaGrange Road. The owner said the chain initially had planned to build Pete’s Market in that location. The idea to build the property there ultimately did not happen but Dremonas said the current plan is the right call for the grocery store.
Pete’s has 16 stores in the Chicagoland area and plans to open more locations, including one in Tinley Park.