Aldi grocery store will open in the former Bed Bath and Beyond building at 215 Harlem Avenue, according to the Village of Forest Park.
“The Village is very excited to welcome Aldi, one of the fastest-growing grocers in the U.S., to Forest Park,” Village Administrator Rachell Entler said in an email. “The addition of Aldi will add a grocery store to the North side of town, giving residents of Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest another affordable food retailer option.”
Aldi’s architectural plans have been reviewed, and the grocery store is ready for a building permit, according to Ryan Nero, commissioner of public health and safety.
Aldi corporate officials conducted the building’s lease negotiations and told village staff that they will award bids to build out the grocery store in the next few weeks.
Changes to the building will include adding a space to accommodate deliveries and redesigning the facade to match Aldi’s branding, according to Entler. She added that, over the past few months, the building’s roof and ceiling have been repaired, and Aldi will install refrigerators, freezers and cashier stations.
“The Department of Public Health and Safety has been quietly working with Aldi for nearly a year on the buildout logistics and project timeline,” village officials said in a statement.
Bed Bath and Beyond closed on Harlem Avenue in March 2023, a month before the national home goods chain declared bankruptcy. Bed Bath and Beyond had been at that location since 2004.
The building started as a National Tea Company grocery store in the ‘60s before it became an A&P grocery store in 1976. It then became a Butera Finer Foods grocery store in 1981. It renewed its life later as a drug store, an auto service shop, and, while the Oak Park Public Library was being built in 2002, a temporary main branch for the library.
Although past grocery stores didn’t succeed in this location, Forest Park is hopeful that Aldi will.
“I think that people are looking for convenience. Aldi has taken on a national presence. They are providing food at affordable prices,” Entler told the Review. “They have a value that has become something that families are wrapping their hands around. People want food stability and not to spend their whole paycheck on it.”
Entler said construction will likely start in a few weeks, and Aldi will be open for business later this year.
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly reported that the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed Aldi’s architectural plans. It was the Department of Public Health and Safety, which leads the Building Department and the Code Enforcement Department. We apologize for the error.