Bob Mariano to Retire in September, Work as Adviser

By Joe Vince (Patch Staff)

Bob Mariano, the man behind the Chicago-area grocery store chain that bares his name, will retire in September as CEO of Roundy's, the chain's parent company.

Mariano, however, will stay on with company as a strategic consultant and adviser for the next two years, according to a release from The Kroger Co., which purchased Roundy's from Mariano for $800 million in November.

"Bob has been a tremendous leader for Roundy's and the entire supermarket industry. … The entire Kroger and Roundy's family extends our best wishes to Bob and his family in retirement," Kroger's CEO and chairman Rodney McMullen said in a statement.

The supermarket business has been a lifelong pursuit for Mariano, who started as a part-time deli clerk at a Chicago Dominick's in 1967. He eventually worked his way up that company's corporate ladder to become CEO in 1995.

In 2002, Mariano became the CEO of Wisconsin-based Roundy's Supermarkets, and eight years later, he created what McMullen called the centerpiece of Mariano's career: the Mariano's Fresh Market chain of high-end stores.

The first Mariano's opened in 2010 in Arlington Heights. Locations in the chain feature the items and atmosphere of an upscale grocer, such as in-store restaurants, sushi offerings and other amenities. But the stores are aimed at middle-class shoppers. Currently, there are 34 locations in the Chicago area.

Mariano's has stores nearby in Western Springs (4700 Gilbert Ave.), Westmont (150 W 63rd St.) and Westchester (3020 S Wolf Road, Suite 35).

PHOTO: Bob Mariano (center) during March's private ribbon-cutting grand opening for a new Mariano's Fresh Market in Westmont. (Morgan Searles | Patch)