PHOTO GALLERY: Save A Lot Reopens on Chicago’s South Side

Following a series of delays, store in Auburn Gresham community is now serving area residents

1/22/2025

The reopened Save A Lot in Chicago meets a community need for improved access to healthy foods. (Image Credit: Teri Soper Photography)

Another Save A Lot has reopened in Chicago. The long-planned unveiling of a location in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood took place on Jan. 16, marking the fifth of six scheduled reopenings on the city’s South and West Sides.

The revamped store at 7908 S. Halsted Street, operated by the Yellow Banana retail platform, was first announced more than two years ago and was held up by construction delays and other hiccups. Yellow Banana has been supported in its efforts to reduce food deserts in the area through funding by the City of Chicago, including a $13.5 million grant awarded in 2022.

The store in the Auburn Gresham community aims to provide groceries and fresh foods to families at affordable prices. To celebrate its return, this Save A Lot is offering six days of special deals and provided a free bag of groceries to the first 100 customers on opening day.

"While other grocers are exiting Chicago, Save A Lot and its local retail partners are actively investing in Chicago stores and the communities that need us. Food access – and especially affordable grocery access – has been an issue for many Chicago residents for too long and we are thrilled to restore access to fresh, high-quality groceries at low prices to the Auburn Gresham community and our customers across the city,” Sarah Griffin, director of corporate communications at Save A Lot, told Progressive Grocer.

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The owner/operators at Yellow Banana plan to open the last of its planned stores in the West Lawn neighborhood in the first half of 2025.

Yellow Banana is owned by 127 Wall, a group co-founded by Michael Nance, Ademola Adewale-Sadik, Walker Brumskine and Joseph Canfield. The operating group runs nearly 40 stores in Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Jacksonville and Dallas.

The largest independently owned and operated discount grocery store chain in the United States, Save A Lot has about 750 stores in 32 states. The St. Ann, Mo.-based company is No. 58 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Save A Lot among its Best Independent Grocers of 2024.