The Homewood Village Board approved the request for a Class 2 liquor license for Berkot’s Super Foods at the Oct. 14 meeting.
Berkot’s is in the process of taking over Walt’s Food Centers store at 2345 183rd St. on Oct. 27, Homewood Finance Director Amy Zukowski said. The Lagestee family has operated Walt’s for 88 years.
Walt’s had a Class 2 liquor license which allows the sale of alcohol in the original package only for consumption off-premises, Zukowski said.
Berkot’s plans to sell packaged liquor, beer and wine to their customers, which they project will account for 5% of the store’s sales, Zukowski said.
Berkot’s has been a full-service family-owned grocer for 44 years. They have 16 stores across the Midwest, and soon will have 20 in total, she said.
Not only do they provide high-quality groceries, but they also support local events and want to create jobs and career paths within the community, Zukowski said.
Tim Kelly, who is with the business development of Berkot’s, assured a resident at the meeting who inquired about hiring former Walt’s employees.
“Every single one of them has been offered employment,” Kelly said.
Kelly also gave everyone an idea of what to expect and look forward to with the opening of Berkot’s.
“Meats is our specialty,” Kelly said, adding, “everything is choice or better. You’ll see a lot more variety.
“You’re going to see a fair amount of changes coming forward in the next number of months. We will be spending millions of dollars renovating and updating the store.”
Kelly also expressed his excitement to be a part of Homewood.
“People live here, stay here, for generations. And we hope to be here for another 45 years,” Kelly said.
