No Deal: Sunset Foods no longer pursuing former Mariano’s site

Sunset Foods is not coming to Northfield.

Close to seven months after the Highland Park-based grocer announced plans to take over the former Mariano’s site 1822 Willow Road, Northfield Village President Tracey Mendrek said on Tuesday that negotiations between Sunset Foods and the property owner, Swanson Development Group, have ceased.

Mendrek’s announcement came during the Village Board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

In a prepared statement, Mendrek said despite months of negotiations, Sunset Foods and Swanson could not reach an agreement.

It is unclear by press time what led to the impasse. Swanson representatives did not return a message from The Record.

“Like all of you, we are disappointed by this outcome,” she said, “but after eight months of a vacant storefront, this board must turn our attention to a new solution for the location.”

The site at 1822 Willow Road has been vacant since last June, after Mariano’s, which had occupied the building since 2014, closed. Prior to Mariano’s, the location had been a Dominick’s until 2013. The property has held a grocery store since the 1970s.

As first reported by The Record, Sunset Foods announced last summer that it was interested in the property, submitting documentation of its plans to the Village. In August 2025, Sunset Foods appeared in front of Northfield’s Plan & Zoning Commission, which unanimously supported the company’s two special use requests via a voice vote.

But since, no further developments came to pass, outside of brief updates at Village Board meetings saying that negotiations were ongoing.

In her statement, Mendrek thanked Village Manager Patrick Brennan, Community Development Director Steve Gutierrez, and planning technician Amina Awad for all their work in trying to bring Sunset Foods to Northfield.

“The many hours they have spent over the last several months on this project are immeasurable,” Mendrek said. “Together with them, we look forward to shaping a new future for Northfield.”

Next steps

With Sunset Foods no longer interested in the former Mariano’s property, Northfield trustees took action on Tuesday to support its next steps.

The Village Board unanimously approved a moratorium on new office-related uses in the Village Center Zoning District.

Mendrek said this vote directs the Plan & Zoning Commission to conduct a public hearing on the moratorium, and for the commission to review allowed uses in the Central Business District and resident feedback from a September 2025 Committee of the Whole meeting held offsite at The Happ Inn, a local restaurant.

“While we have some parameters around small office use in the Village, we really don’t have anything where we’ve considered a larger space or a larger office space,” she said, adding that she, Brennan and the Village’s legal counsel “decided that this would probably be a good time to take a pause to review our zoning code in the Central Business District and allow our Plan & Zoning Commission to make some recommendations back to us.”

While that’s happening, Mendrek said in her statement that the Village has hired a consultant to conduct an eligibility study “to ascertain if there are locations in the business district that would qualify as a redevelopment area, which would open the door to tax increment financing. If eligible, this will provide the Village a valuable tool to take a more assertive role in the land use of our Village.”

She said that Northfield’s neighbors have done similar studies.

“We have watched from the sidelines as many of our neighboring communities, including Northbrook, Glenview, Deerfield and Highland Park, have used similar redevelopment plans to enhance their downtowns,” she said. “I believe that it is Northfield’s time to take decisive steps to strengthen our community.

“In staying true to our Comprehensive Plan and hearing our resident’s requests for a more vibrant Village Center, we will continue to look for innovative ways to advance economic development in our community.”

Reportedly, the concurrent process of commission review and eligibility study will take around six to eight months.

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