• Chicago Tribune, Monday, September 27, 2010 10:45 AM

Sandra M. Jones reports that food stores -- from upscale Whole Foods to discounter Aldi -- are beginning to take root in malls around the country as the shopping emporia morph from department-store fashion centers into places of commerce and convenience centered on community.

From an operator's perspective, it's a way to draw the crowds needed to support the rest of the mall after the demise of chains such as Mervyn's and Gottschalks and with retailers such as Sears and Saks shutting unprofitable stores. Plus, shoppers typically visit grocery stores once a week while they visit regional malls, on average, less than once a month.

"Everybody's looking for growth opportunities," says Bill Bishop, chairman of supermarket consulting firm Willard Bishop. "If these regional malls give grocery stores exposure to geographic market segments they can't reach another way, that's a good reason for doing it."

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