Yellow Banana Closes $26.5M Investment in Chicago Stores; Leon Bergmann and Joseph Canfield Comment

Tuesday, Apr. 25th, 2023

by Anne Allen

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CHICAGO, IL - Two words that are always bound to catch our attention: grocery investment. Yellow Banana, which owns and operates eight Save A Lot stores in the Chicago, Illinois, region, has unveiled the closing on a $26.5 million investment into grocery stores on the South and West sides of Chicago.

Leon Bergmann, Chief Executive Officer, Save A Lot “We are excited about Yellow Banana’s commitment to reshape the in-store experience for Save A Lot customers throughout the city’s South and West sides,” said Save A Lot Chief Executive Officer Leon Bergmann. “The enhancements underway will ensure Chicagoans can continue to access fresh foods and quality brands at affordable prices for many years to come.”

Combining a $13.5 million Community Development Grant presented to Yellow Banana in July 2022 with New Markets Tax Credits, third-party financing, and additional funding from Yellow Banana, this transaction marks the next step in Yellow Banana’s ongoing commitment to underserved communities throughout the City of Chicago and the United States.

Yellow Banana, which owns and operates eight Save A Lot stores in the Chicago, Illinois, region, has unveiled the closing on a $26.5 million investment into grocery stores on the South and West sides of Chicago

Through this project, Yellow Banana will make comprehensive upgrades to its existing Chicago stores as well as reopen a former Save A Lot that closed in 2020, a press release explained. The capital investments will be used to acquire the underlying real estate at five of Yellow Banana’s existing Chicago stores and at the Auburn Gresham site, in addition to completing a comprehensive internal and external redevelopment at each location.

Joseph Canfield, Co-Founder, 127 Wall Holdings “Yellow Banana has been brainstorming ways in which to breathe new life into the Save A Lot brand in Chicago ever since we first purchased the stores in 2021,” said Joseph Canfield, Co-Founder of 127 Wall Holdings, which owns Yellow Banana. “Countless professionals from dozens of organizations worked tirelessly to secure this investment and help deliver the shopping experience that hard-working Chicagoans deserve. This collaboration demonstrates our company’s commitment to providing quality, affordable, healthy groceries to the communities in which we operate.”