Tony's Fresh Market Still Plans To Renovate Joliet's Kmart

JOLIET, IL — In December, city of Joliet officials issued a news release announcing that Tony's Fresh Market would be filling the empty Kmart store at Joliet's busiest intersection.

According to Joliet's tax incentives package, Tony planned to hire at least 100 full-time workers and another 150 part-time workers for its new grocery store at 1801 W. Jefferson St.

"I think it's a win for the city. It's turning a blighted corner at two major roads into a retail center that will look beautiful," Joliet City Councilman Larry Hug told Patch last December.

But this summer, the Kmart property still sits vacant.

On Tuesday, once again, not one building contractor was working on the old Kmart property. No building contractors were working on the property last week, either.

The newly acquired Tony's Fresh Market property looks rundown.

Tall weeds line the front of the Kmart entrance, and, strangely, at least a half dozen automobile tires are scattered throughout the huge parking lot.

On Tuesday night, a representative of Tony's Fresh Market called Joliet Patch back for comment. He indicated that Patch's voicemail message gave him the impression that a negative story was coming, even though the future Tony's Fresh Market was a tremendous positive for Joliet.

"Landscaping is going to be taken care of," he told Patch. "We intend to build a beautiful store. Nothing has changed from our perspective."

The management official said that Tony's Fresh Market has been focusing on finishing its new grocery store in Round Lake Beach, a store expected to open by the end of July.

Once the Round Lake store is done, the company would devote its attention to the Joliet project at Larkin Avenue and Jefferson Street, the management official said.

Tony's still has a goal of opening the new store in Joliet by the end of 2021. Joliet Patch reminded Tony's that on most days this summer, there are no construction contractors remodeling the former Kmart, but the Tony's representative disagreed, saying that work was being done on the building approximately "a couple weeks ago."

As to why the Joliet grocery store has got off to such a slow start, Tony's Fresh Market pointed to the highly publicized national shortage of lumber and building materials as being another obvious factor.

Since seven months have passed since Joliet approved the Tony's Fresh Market, Patch asked the Tony's representative whether there's been any interest from other businesses wanting to look at the old Kmart site.

"We have some interest in the outlots and other space in the shopping center as well," he said.

Back on May 6, Joliet Patch reported that the Tony's Fresh Market redevelopment project had two giant inflatable rats placed along Larkin Avenue. Tony's Fresh Market had chosen to use out of town non-union laborers to begin the interior demolition work, according to Laborers Local 75.

At that time, Local 75 members told Patch it was their understanding the Tony's Fresh Market redevelopment project, which was approved by the Joliet City Council in December, must use union labor for at least 75 percent of the project at the former Kmart site.