The 73,000 square-foot store features a cafe, coffee and gelato bar, smoothie bar, stone-hearth oven for pizzas and more, and is not far from Park Ridge and Niles.Patch Staff|Updated Tue, May 7, 2013 at 5:21 pm CTMariano's Fresh Market opened its newest store in Harwood Heights last week, and manager Mike Binder says it was designed to create a "wow" effect as customers enter.They immediately see the produce section and smoothie bar, and at the left is the Vero espresso bar offering lattes, cappuccinos...
The 73,000 square-foot store features a cafe, coffee and gelato bar, smoothie bar, stone-hearth oven for pizzas and more, and is not far from Park Ridge and Niles.
Patch Staff
|Updated Tue, May 7, 2013 at 5:21 pm CT
Mariano's Fresh Market opened its newest store in Harwood Heights last week, and manager Mike Binder says it was designed to create a "wow" effect as customers enter.
They immediately see the produce section and smoothie bar, and at the left is the Vero espresso bar offering lattes, cappuccinos and other drinks.
A little further along, customers see the sushi bar, hot food bar, salad bar and hot soup bar.
Then there's Tod's Barbecue, offering Southern-style hot dinners. It's a new concept for Mariano stores, and has its own seating area if customers want to dine right there.
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"We have a deli and bakery, and outstanding seafood--40 varieties on any given day," Binder said.
There's also a butcher shop and a cheese counter which has 300 varieties of cheese. And of course, regular groceries, which Binder said are priced competitively.
The store, at 7401 W. Lawrence, is within a 10-minute drive of Park Ridge, Morton Grove and Niles.
Binder hopes you will stay for lunch or dinner in one of their three seating areas--the main dining area, Tod's and the sushi bar. You can pick out your meat or fish at the butcher and seafood counters and the store will grill it for you, for on-site dining, at no extra charge. Or you can take it home.
As with other chains, newer stores offer more features. The Harwood Heights location has a demo grill station in the center of the store, offering different specials. The other day, it was an Italian sausage sandwich priced at $6.
Tod's is new, too.
"This is the second store that has a Tod's Barbecue, and customers love it," Binder said.
The smoothie bar is also a newer innovation.
Vivian King, director of consumer and media relations for Roundy's, which owns Mariano's, said the store also has environmentally-friendly features. The store meets silver LEED criteria.
"At non-peak times, the lights (in the grocery aisles) dim," she said. "It's called daylight harvesting technology." The store is designed to also use a lot of natural light.
Binder says he's a Chicagoan who grew up near Wrigley Field, and he understands Chicago food like Vienna dogs and Italian beef.
When asked for a recommendation of what to try at the smoothie bar, King recommended the Super Kale Smoothie.
"It's sweetened with fruit juice. It's delicious," she insisted.
We'll let you make your own decision on that one.