Customers at the new Save A Lot in Auburn Gresham lined up early Thursday hoping to take advantage of the grocery giveaways.
Some residents, including Rosetta Miller and Richard Bryant, waited in the cold from 6:30 a.m. for the store to open at 9:45 a.m.
“I always like to be in front, and I wanna get whatever they’re giving away,” Bryant said.
The store at 7908 S. Halsted St., which has been anticipated since 2022, was a welcome sight.
“I’m glad they’re putting a store here,” Bryant said. “It is a blessing.”
The bag of free pantry goods for the first 100 visitors added to their excitement about having a grocer they would not have to travel far to reach.
“I wanted to be here because I want the free food, and I don’t have any food,” said Miller, who lives at St Leo’s Residence For Veterans.
Rosetta Miller (left), who was first in line waiting for the store to open, helps cut the ribbon on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.
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The opening was a promise fulfilled after two years and many timeline changes.
Yellow Banana, the embattled operator and owner of Chicago-area stores, first introduced itself to the city through the Gresham store when a nearby Aldi closed unexpectedly.
Armed with a $20 million city-financing deal to renovate six stores, company CEO Joe Canfield said Gresham residents could expect a Save A Lot to open by the end of 2022. The following years saw deadlines pass until less than three months before the TIF-funding deadline to open all six stores.
Meanwhile, the company racked up over $2 million in fines, lawsuits and debts to cities and vendors and shuttered or gave up ownership of all of its stores outside Chicago.
Initially, Gresham was named a top priority for Yellow Banana because of the area’s low food access. However, unexpected problems during construction put the store nearly last on the list of stores to open. One final store is slated to open in February, Canfield said.
Steve Price waits in line Thursday, opening day of the Save A Lot in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.
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Steve Price stopped by to wait in line Thursday so he could grab some produce for his wife, who works as a crossing guard. He no longer has to travel farther to Fairplay Foods.
“I was ready for them to open up. I really didn’t like that they kept pushing it back,” the 66-year-old said.
When the store was ready to open, Miller got to help cut the ribbon as Canfield said a few words.
“We want to welcome you to the neighborhood grocery store, to the neighborhood Save A Lot. It’s not us, it’s for all of us,” Canfield said.
Shoppers browse the frozen aisle on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham on Thursday.
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Fresh produce is for sale on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham on Thursday.
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Shoppers mill around on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham on Thursday. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
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A shopper pushes his walker that he used as a grocery cart on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham, Thursday.
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Brian Booth looks at the frozen section on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham on Thursday.
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An employee checks out a customer on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham on Thursday.
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Lesley Chinn works nights at the post office and stopped by the store on her way home. After waiting for over an hour, she filled her cart with frozen dinners and fresh cuts of meat as a deejay in the store played James Brown’s “The Payback.”
“I’m just getting off work, and I wanted to take advantage of the deals,” Chinn said. “I don’t have a preference on what grocery store I go to.”
“I’m liking the store,” said Darryl Parson, who waited in line for a half-hour before filing in to check out the frozen foods aisle.
“We needed a store like this. We had to go way out there to get food,” he said. “God is good. I hope they take advantage of the store so it stays open. We need this in the neighborhood.”
Yellow Banana’s redevelopment deal with the city dictates that the six stores must stay open for at least 10 years or they will be forced to repay city funds.
Sweet potatoes and green cabbage are for sale on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Talking with 17th Ward Ald. David Moore and Carlos Nelson, chief executive officer of the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation, helped Yellow Banana create a store residents would be happy about, he said.
“One of the biggest concerns (people had) was security, ” Canfield said. “So we actually spent a little bit more on, not only the security systems, but cameras and those kind of things. So we’re trying to be good community partners. We’re trying to listen and provide the customers what they’re looking for, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Canfield hopes a partnership with a nearby community produce grower will be finalized within the next several months in order to provide Gresham Save A Lot shoppers with local produce.
Business at a West Garfield Park store — the first of the TIF-financed stores — has been good, Canfield said.
“The difference that we saw in sales from when before we remodeled the store, to after we remodeled the store, has been significant. We’ve seen a significant lift now,” he said.
“We’re still looking for ways to win over some customers we know are going other places,” Canfield added. “But that’s something that you need by operating good stores every day, good offerings.”
Carla McCalpine pays for her groceries on the opening day of Save A Lot in Gresham, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times