Grocery Store To Replace Former Toys 'R' Us In Niles

NILES, IL — The former site of the Niles Toys "R" Us is set to become the latest location of the nation's biggest South Asian grocery store chain.

Patel Brothers plans to open up shop at 9555 N. Milwaukee Ave. during the coming spring, according to the company.

"We look forward to this refreshing and blossoming opportunity this upcoming spring season," the company said last week in a social media post.

Since starting in 1974 in a 900-square-foot space on Devon Avenue in Chicago, the family-owned Hanover Park-based chain has grown to become the largest and most beloved Indian grocery store in the United States.

It has 54 stores across more than a dozen states nationwide. Its Illinois locations include Schaumburg, Chicago and its largest location in Naperville, which opened in 2017.

The 60,000-square-foot former Toys R Us store at Milwaukee Avenue and Golf Road was corporate owned and shuttered along with the rest of the toy store's locations last March after it declared bankruptcy in September 2017.

After 50 years of toy stores at the corner – including predecessor Bargain Town USA – Toys "R" Us closed for good for good on June 28, 2018, according to the Niles Journal.

Niles Economic Development Coordinator Ross Klicker told Pioneer Press the site had attracted interest from potential occupants considering several different uses for the site, including land speculators, car dealers and others. He expected the site to be successful for all parties involved.

“Especially when it comes to groceries, Niles has a very ethnic and diverse offering," Klicker told the Niles Herald-Spectator. "This will only continue to add to those offerings, which will only help our very diverse population."