Chicago grocer Dom’s Kitchen & Market to open first suburban location in Vernon Hills

The boutique grocer Dom’s Kitchen & Market, a familiar name in some Chicago neighborhoods, plans to open its first suburban location in Vernon Hills.

The design concept for the specialty, small-format store, complete with a coffee and wine bar, received a nod from the Village Board last week to move forward with a detailed village staff review before a public hearing and eventual formal vote.

Proposed for the outer edge of the $250 million Hawthorne Mall redevelopment, the 24,000-square-foot, stand-alone store on 600 E. Townline Road (Route 60) will have a smaller footprint and different style from traditional grocery stores.

“Just as Dom’s is redefining the meal-shopping experience, the Hawthorn is redefining the mall-shopping experience,” a statement from Dom’s Kitchen & Market said. “We both are pushing the boundaries of what a retail space can be by creating innovative formats, designed to make shopping enjoyable and interactive.”

The grocery company plans to invest $19 million in the Vernon Hills location, said Mike Mallon, a consultant with Draper & Kramer who works with Dom’s, at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Dec. 13.

The unique, grocery-restaurant hybrid was created in 2021 by a big name in grocery: Bob Mariano, former head of some of Chicago’s largest grocery chains.

The first Dom’s opened in Lincoln Park, offering fresh produce and meat departments, while also boasting handcrafted food stations — like soup and sandwiches, sushi and poke bowls — and a coffee counter, complete with a lounge area.

A second location was opened in Old Town, and a third is on the way in River North.

Expanding to Vernon Hills marks a milestone for Dom’s mission to expand to Chicago-area suburbs.

“When we talk about food and the culinary experience, it’s constantly evolving,” said Peter Theodore, principal architect at Camburas Theodore, the firm designing Dom’s locations. “This store will modify and adapt according to the needs of the community.”

The Vernon Hills customers might be different from the Chicago customers, Theodore surmised, adding that the market’s main strength is its flexibility.

Dom’s sources gets its produce from local vendors, and rotates available produce with the seasons. Beer and wine are available to purchase and consume in-store.

The specialty store will be complete with just under 1,000 square feet of outdoor seating, and more than 150 parking spaces. The market will create more than 100 jobs.

“Adding a grocer of Dom’s caliber is a significant step in the Hawthorn 2.0 Redevelopment project, bringing an integral component that truly makes the ‘shop, dine, play and live’ concept a reality for area residents,” Hawthorn Mall general manager Jeff Rutzen said.

“Dom’s Kitchen & Market is exactly the kind of first-to-market retail experience we want to provide for our shoppers and residents as we continue to break from tradition in shopping center retail and create a truly unique, comfortable and approachable shopping and living experience for the community,” he said.

Vernon Hills was one of the first locations for Mariano’s namesake store and the proposed Dom’s location is just a few blocks away from the former Dominick’s, where Mariano was an executive.

Dom’s plans to start work on the Vernon Hills location in 2025.

Theodore, who was also involved in the Vernon Hills Mariano’s development, said Dom’s Market, at the intersection of two major thoroughfares — Routes 60 and 21 — will attract residents from surrounding communities to the store.

The market anticipates an average of 20,000 customers a week at the Vernon Hills location, Theodore said.

The company believes the Vernon Hills market will be able to support this type of store, after an extensive review of various suburban markets, Mallon said.

“That was only supported by the amount of requests we got online from your residents that said, ‘We want a Dom’s in Vernon Hills,’” Mallon said. “It was by far the strongest suburban market that we got requests from.”

Special attention was paid to the configuration of the loading dock, Theodore said about the design concept, to conceal the dock from customer view and for easy access for the drivers.

Recently, Dom’s and Foxtrot, another Chicago grocery startup, announced plans to merge the two companies.

Foxtrot, an upscale convenience store and cafe, has 15 stores in Chicago and another 17 across D.C., Dallas and Austin.

“The merger with Foxtrot is an incredible opportunity,” Mallon said. “You’ve got two, iconic Chicago-area brands partnering up, you’ll see cross-pollination of goods and services between the two.”

chilles@chicagotribune.com