Protests, delays, and flat-out controversy have been unwanted partners in Yellow Banana’s attempt to open a handful of Save A Lots in the city of Chicago.
It appears those relationships are about to be severed, as six locations are on track to power up over the coming months.
A store in Garfield Park on 420 S. Pulaski has a grand reopening date set for Sept. 5. Barring any further project delays, October open dates are projected for locations at 10700 S. Halsted, 7240 S. Stony Island, and 2858 E. 83rd Street, and stores on 4439 W. 63rd Street and 7908 S. Halsted could be back in business in November. Many of the stores are located in food deserts.
Yellow Banana has been working on a comprehensive internal and external redevelopment at each location, including new flooring, lighting, equipment, HVAC, dairy and meat cases, interior and exterior paint, décor, fixtures, and signage.
Delays, however, quickly began to pile up.
Yellow Banana wanted to renovate the Auburn Gresham location (7908 S. Halsted) first, but an unexpected subsurface condition that required additional geotechnical work and other investigations created additional months’ worth of redevelopment. Officials said the floors were done in January 2024, but the store has remained closed.
Neighborhood issues also got in the way. Yellow Banana was getting ready to open an Englewood store in January 2023 but was met with protestors who were angry about Whole Foods vacating the site.
The opening of the Save A Lot on West 63rd and Halsted was then put on pause for months as Yellow Banana, including CEO Joe Canfield, tried to work with residents and community leaders. A town hall meeting was held on May 3, 2023, to address the concerns.