Blue Goose close to deciding on Batavia store?
"You asked. We listened. Get ready, Batavia."
With a photo of himself holding a sign reading "I ♥ Blue Goose Batavia," Paul Lencioni Thursday set Batavians abuzz with what seemed to be an announcement on social media about opening a second store.
But there's no done deal yet, according to Lencioni and Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke.
"Lot of good momentum and we're close but not quite yet ... nothing in ink yet ... lot of smiles and general agreement tho," Lencioni wrote in a text reply to a request for confirmation.
Lencioni would like to open a second location in the space formerly occupied by a Walgreens store in the Batavia Plaza, 138 W. Wilson St.
Judging by the 202 likes, 44 shares and 27 comments his post received in just one hour, Batavians really want the store.
Batavia Enterprises Inc. owns the shopping center on Wilson. A representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
In April, Batavia hired a consultant to help it determine if it could or should provide financial incentives to get the market to open. The study has not been finished, but city officials and BEI are due to talk with the consultant next week.
"I would describe it as very positive conversation with him. ... We're trying to be as supportive as we can," Schielke said.
"A food store would be a home run," BEI's Gerard Dempsey, chairman and chief executive officer, said in April.
The former Walgreens is 12,654 square feet, but Blue Goose may take more space. The building could be expanded into the alley, or a second floor added, according to BEI Vice President Austin Dempsey.
The Blue Goose Fruit Store was founded in St. Charles in 1928. It is at Route 31 and Illinois Street in downtown St. Charles.
For the last few months, the market has offered yard signs to patrons that spell out their love for the Blue Goose. Those signs have popped up in yards throughout Batavia.
Lencioni is the third generation of his family to run the Blue Goose. He grew up in Batavia.
The former Walgreens space used to be home to a grocery store, including a Jewel, in the 1960s and 1970s.