Grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons announced on Tuesday a list of 35 Illinois stores, most of them Mariano’s, that they plan to sell off in hopes of securing federal approval for their planned megamerger. Eight of the stores slated for sale are in Chicago.
If Kroger and Albertsons — which first announced plans to merge in 2022 — secure approval for the deal, the store locations listed would be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers for $2.9 million. Most Kroger-owned Mariano’s would be divested under the plan, which calls for selling 31 of the company’s 44 stores. Kroger has also said it would sell the Mariano’s brand name to C&S. Just four of the planned divestitures are Albertsons-owned Jewel-Osco locations.
In an initial divestiture plan announced in September, the companies said they planned to sell off more than 400 grocery stores nationwide, including 14 in Illinois.
Facing federal scrutiny over their planned megamerger, the companies upped the number of planned divestitures to a total of 579 in April with 35 planned divestitures in Illinois, though they did not specify at the time exactly where those stores would be located.
It’s still not clear if the plan will satisfy federal regulators. The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger in February, saying it could lead to higher prices for consumers and lower wages for workers. The merger has also faced scrutiny from labor unions and elected officials, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who was one of nine attorneys general who filed a lawsuit challenging the merger.
In the divestiture plan announced Tuesday, the Chicago grocery stores slated to be sold off are:
- Jewel-Osco — 87 W 87th St
- Marianos — 3350 N Western Ave,
- Marianos — 5353 N Elston Ave
- Marianos — 1800 W Lawrence Ave
- Marianos — 5201 N Sheridan Rd
- Marianos — 1500 N Clybourn Ave Ste 104
- Marianos — 3030 N Broadway Ste 100
- Marianos — 3857 S Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr
The stores slated for divestiture elsewhere in the state are:
- Jewel-Osco — 12001 S Pulaski Rd, Alsip
- Marianos — 802 E Northwest Hwy, Arlington Heights
- Marianos — 144 S Gary Ave, Bloomingdale
- Marianos — 105 Northwest Hwy, Crystal Lake
- Marianos — 2999 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield
- Marianos — 10 E Golf Rd, Des Plaines
- Marianos — 678 N York St, Elmhurst
- Marianos — 21001 S LaGrange Rd, Frankfort
- Marianos — 6655 Grand Ave, Gurnee
- Jewel-Osco — 1537 N Larkin Ave, Joliet
- Marianos — 1350 E Route 22, Lake Zurich
- Marianos — 345 W Roosevelt Ave, Lombard
- Marianos — 1300 S Naper Blvd, Naperville
- Marianos — 784 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook
- Marianos — 11000 S Cicero Ave, Oak Lawn
- Marianos — 9504 142nd St, Orland Park
- Marianos — 545 N Hicks Rd, Palatine
- Jewel-Osco — 12803 S Harlem Ave, Palos Heights
- Marianos — 1900 S Cumberland Ave, Park Ridge
- Marianos — 950 Brook Forest Ave, Shorewood
- Marianos — 3358 W Touhy Ave, Skokie
- Marianos — 1720 N Milwaukee Ave, Vernon Hills
- Marianos — 3020 Wolf Rd, Westchester
- Marianos — 4700 Gilbert Ave, Western Springs
- Marianos — 150 W 63rd St, Westmont
- Marianos — 625 S Main St, Wheaton
- Marianos — 1822 Willow Rd, Winnetka