JOLIET, IL – Joliet’s Kmart store was built in 1965 and now, five years after it closed, about 30 union entrepreneurs are bringing the property to life this week as Tony’s Finer Foods – and Planet Fitness.
That’s right, Planet Fitness will occupy the corner lot of the former Kmart that was a ShowBiz Pizza Place for decades.
On Wednesday morning, Joliet Patch was there to interview Chris Marczuk with the Unified Construction Group, the general contractor for the renovation of Tony in Joliet.
Marczuk said Tony’s is expected to open next spring. The front of the grocery store on Larkin Avenue and Jefferson Street will have a sushi bar and a gelato bar, he said.
As for the building remodeling this week, “At the moment we’re basically building five new storefronts, a Planet Fitness and a Tony’s Finer Foods in the old Kmart area,” Marczuk told Joliet Patch.
“Our plan is that hopefully it will be ready by April depending on the material and weather and the like,” he said. “So the entire storefront was demonstrated. It will be about six meters high. On the east side the five storefronts will go there. I don’t think there are any tenants, but it could be, I’m not one hundred percent sure.”
There are about 30 union workers on the grounds of old Kmart this week, including Crowther Roofing Sheet Metal in Romeoville and Pullara Construction Industrial in Minooka.
“Hopefully it will bring a lot of jobs, a lot of opportunities for a lot of different people. It’s going to be a good thing,” said Marczuk of Tony’s Finer Foods.
Last December, the city of Joliet announced that Tony’s had acquired the vacant property from Kmart. Kmart closed in December 2016.
Tony’s Fresh Market redevelopment project requires city tax incentives. Joliet officials said Tony plans to hire around 100 full-time workers and 150 part-time workers.
Contractors informed Patch that the new Tony’s Fresh Market will be ready and open next spring. John Ferak / Patch
Contractors informed Patch that the new Tony’s Fresh Market will be ready and open next spring. John Ferak / Patch
Contractors informed Patch that the new Tony’s Fresh Market will be ready and open next spring. John Ferak / Patch
Contractors informed Patch that the new Tony’s Fresh Market will be ready and open next spring. John Ferak / Patch
