Crystal Lake Mariano's Will Be Sold If Supermarket Merger Happens

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — The local supermarket landscape could look a bit different if a merger between two companies goes through.

In Illinois, 35 Jewel-Osco and Mariano's stores will be divested as part of a deal between their parent companies, Kroger Co. and Albertsons Companies Inc., including the Mariano's location at 105 Northwest Highway, Crystal Lake.

The $24.6 billion merger, which was announced in October 2022, will result in the sale of stores and other facilities to C&S Wholesale Grocers, according to a Tuesday announcement.

The New Hampshire-based company, whose subsidiaries include Piggly Wiggly, will purchase the stores as part of the merger agreement. In all, Kroger and Albertsons, which currently operates nearly 5,000 stores in the U.S., will sell 600 of those.

Other area stores that will be sold in the merger include:

• Mariano's, 1350 E. Route 22, Lake Zurich
• Mariano's, 545 N. Hicks Road, Palatine

Employees of the store were notified of the deal Tuesday in a memo that said they'll become employees of C&S Wholesale Grocers once the merger is complete, according to a report from Crain's Chicago Business.

In 2022, the Crystal Lake Mariano's was sold to a New York family for $35.5 million. The sale came four years after the store opened along Northwest Highway. The shuttered Sears store was demolished to make way for the 74,800-square-foot grocery store, which opens on May 1, 2018. .

Route 14 has seen several changes in grocery stores in recent years. The same year Mariano's opened, Joseph's Marketplace, which was beloved by Crystal Lake residents for 13 years, decided to close its doors.

After several years sitting vacant on Route 14, a new polish grocer, KD Market, is slated to move into the shuttered Joseph's this summer.

• New Grocer Plans To Move Into Former Joseph's Marketplace

RELATED: 35 IL Jewel, Mariano's Stores To Be Divested Ahead Of Merger