This store had the best meat/butcher around the entire area. When Robert Zeidler died, the son of the original owner, the remaining owners didn't see eye to eye. The one who was managing on a more daily basis was disinterested and his sister had her own professional vocation. I don't think they could agree on how to manage the store too bad at one time it was such a favorite and everyone loved going here, much more than Jewel or some other chain store. I can't believe they plan to use the property for a library seems ludicrous. Bring back the old days they were better than today. It had a feeling here like a family in the community everyone knew everyone who came in and who worked here. This is another loss that sucks.
this building is now demolished and they rebuilt the helen plum library on the property. i miss this supermarket so much, my uncle and i used to walk up there all the time. he knew the owner, mr. z himself. the cashiers knew us since we were regulars there. he’s no longer with us, and having this store gone completely is just a reminder that life is always changing. i will always have wonderful memories of mr. z supermarket.
To the person that said it was a National Grocery Store , yes you are 100% correct. When National moved out MrZ moved in from their previous and much smaller location on Main just south of Madison
This article covers the closing in 2013. www.dailyherald.com/article/20131017/news/710179766/ "Then on Sept. 27, Mr. Z's closed its doors for the final time. Few knew the closing was coming, but Village President Keith Giagnorio said residents suspected for months something was wrong because the store's shelves weren't being restocked. Co-owner Steve Zeidler didn't say anything to customers about the situation. When the end came, there wasn't an announcement. There wasn't a going-out-of-business sale. And employees weren't notified until the last day."
I remember shopping there as a kid. I remember that safe in the front too. . . I also remember the old man. Very kind. The whole place went downhill after he died. Very sad. Yes sometime in the late '90s they renovated the whole place and expanded the front out giving a whole new appearance and everything. I believe originally it was all dark red brick and windows in the front. They change the color theme on the inside a little bit too. The whole place has been closed now for a while. I moved and yada yada.
used to go there all the time with my mom and grandma. great store! they had a little animatronic chicken quarter vending machine at the front double door youd put a quarter in and it would like cluck and spin and open and close its beak before dropping one of those plastic Easter eggs with a little kazoo whistle in side lol so many awesome memories....the fast food join next door called Main Stop is where all the kids from Glenbard East would work part time...they had THE best cheese fries in the whole world!! lol
Thanks for sharing, and I appreciate the comments as to what’s going on there . I used to take my grandma shopping there in the very early 2000s, moved out of state in 2003.
Used to be National and when they closed, Mr. Z moved from their previous location to that one. Eventually they built out. Never shopped here, just passed it a lot. Saw it my whole life going to work or to Yorktown. However, to answer your question, it was just the store.
I worked here as a teenager! The commenter that said they were national, is not true. This store was a local store owned by the Ziedler family. The original Hermann Z died and the business was run for years by the son, Bob. Once Bob passed away, the grandson and granddaughter sold the business. There were money issues and they just couldn’t compete with larger grocery chains in the area like Jewel and Mariano’s.
That place was my childhood. I'm not even joking when I say I lived and still live around the corner, like the street you can literally see in the video. It closed after Mr.Z died and the kids couldn't decide on money quite a shame I remember the little kid shopping carts I used to push around the store, and every time I see it it brings back old memories. Ngl I probably saw you recording this that's how close I live.
The fact that it was not a corporate business made it special. I would prefer doing business with a family interested in making profit rather than a corporate store that makes the customers pay for all the shoplifting. They let theft happen to keep from having lawsuits. Then they budget the loss and raise prices to make up for it.
Damn bro this place closed when I was in middle school, I remember going there all the time in elementary school. This place really went down hill after the original owner died, the kids really messed the store up because they couldn’t agree on money, I live like 5 minutes from here
The former Mr. Z's Supermarket building in Lombard has stood vacant since the business abruptly closed in 2013. Now the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library is planning to spend $2.295 million to buy the property at 401 S. Main St.
Every so often I have a craving for their ham salad. Where else can you even get ham salad!! My friend worked there when it all went down; one of her co-workers called her that morning to tell her that she was locked out and the place was closed haha. Nothing criminal! Dad owned the place, he died, and the kids didn't want to take over. But his kids sucked and treated the employees badly the last year or so that it operated.
One of the people who took over made their kid a manager, and they would only use that as an opportunity to make out with the bagboys in the office. Loudly.
The best bread was those tall loafs by the deli counter. cant find them anywhere. Their problems started when the roof started leaking. Sister wanted money not fix it I hear. Towards the end they even used Mr Z for some filming.
This store had the best meat/butcher around the entire area. When Robert Zeidler died, the son of the original owner, the remaining owners didn't see eye to eye. The one who was managing on a more daily basis was disinterested and his sister had her own professional vocation. I don't think they could agree on how to manage the store too bad at one time it was such a favorite and everyone loved going here, much more than Jewel or some other chain store. I can't believe they plan to use the property for a library seems ludicrous. Bring back the old days they were better than today. It had a feeling here like a family in the community everyone knew everyone who came in and who worked here. This is another loss that sucks.
this building is now demolished and they rebuilt the helen plum library on the property. i miss this supermarket so much, my uncle and i used to walk up there all the time. he knew the owner, mr. z himself. the cashiers knew us since we were regulars there. he’s no longer with us, and having this store gone completely is just a reminder that life is always changing. i will always have wonderful memories of mr. z supermarket.
UPDATE JUNE 2021 - The store is now flattened and the construction of the new library will begin
Sad
To the person that said it was a National Grocery Store , yes you are 100% correct. When National moved out MrZ moved in from their previous and much smaller location on Main just south of Madison
This article covers the closing in 2013. www.dailyherald.com/article/20131017/news/710179766/
"Then on Sept. 27, Mr. Z's closed its doors for the final time.
Few knew the closing was coming, but Village President Keith Giagnorio said residents suspected for months something was wrong because the store's shelves weren't being restocked.
Co-owner Steve Zeidler didn't say anything to customers about the situation. When the end came, there wasn't an announcement. There wasn't a going-out-of-business sale. And employees weren't notified until the last day."
Worked here as a kid. I read an article about the closing of Mr Z. Sad for Lombard
I remember shopping there as a kid. I remember that safe in the front too. . . I also remember the old man. Very kind. The whole place went downhill after he died. Very sad.
Yes sometime in the late '90s they renovated the whole place and expanded the front out giving a whole new appearance and everything. I believe originally it was all dark red brick and windows in the front. They change the color theme on the inside a little bit too. The whole place has been closed now for a while. I moved and yada yada.
used to go there all the time with my mom and grandma. great store! they had a little animatronic chicken quarter vending machine at the front double door youd put a quarter in and it would like cluck and spin and open and close its beak before dropping one of those plastic Easter eggs with a little kazoo whistle in side lol
so many awesome memories....the fast food join next door called Main Stop is where all the kids from Glenbard East would work part time...they had THE best cheese fries in the whole world!! lol
Thanks for sharing, and I appreciate the comments as to what’s going on there . I used to take my grandma shopping there in the very early 2000s, moved out of state in 2003.
Used to be National and when they closed, Mr. Z moved from their previous location to that one. Eventually they built out. Never shopped here, just passed it a lot. Saw it my whole life going to work or to Yorktown. However, to answer your question, it was just the store.
I worked here as a teenager! The commenter that said they were national, is not true. This store was a local store owned by the Ziedler family. The original Hermann Z died and the business was run for years by the son, Bob. Once Bob passed away, the grandson and granddaughter sold the business. There were money issues and they just couldn’t compete with larger grocery chains in the area like Jewel and Mariano’s.
That place was my childhood. I'm not even joking when I say I lived and still live around the corner, like the street you can literally see in the video. It closed after Mr.Z died and the kids couldn't decide on money quite a shame I remember the little kid shopping carts I used to push around the store, and every time I see it it brings back old memories. Ngl I probably saw you recording this that's how close I live.
The fact that it was not a corporate business made it special. I would prefer doing business with a family interested in making profit rather than a corporate store that makes the customers pay for all the shoplifting. They let theft happen to keep from having lawsuits. Then they budget the loss and raise prices to make up for it.
Damn bro this place closed when I was in middle school, I remember going there all the time in elementary school. This place really went down hill after the original owner died, the kids really messed the store up because they couldn’t agree on money, I live like 5 minutes from here
Mr Z made one hell of a crab dip.
I found the listing. It says the building was built in 1962 and remodeled in 2001. Its advertising that its 28k square feet.
The library in that lot is very nice
The former Mr. Z's Supermarket building in Lombard has stood vacant since the business abruptly closed in 2013. Now the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library is planning to spend $2.295 million to buy the property at 401 S. Main St.
Every so often I have a craving for their ham salad. Where else can you even get ham salad!! My friend worked there when it all went down; one of her co-workers called her that morning to tell her that she was locked out and the place was closed haha. Nothing criminal! Dad owned the place, he died, and the kids didn't want to take over. But his kids sucked and treated the employees badly the last year or so that it operated.
One of the people who took over made their kid a manager, and they would only use that as an opportunity to make out with the bagboys in the office. Loudly.
Interesting find!
They had done some remodeling to the store in the early 2000's that is correct.
my former McDonald up. Burger King
The best bread was those tall loafs by the deli counter. cant find them anywhere. Their problems started when the roof started leaking. Sister wanted money not fix it I hear. Towards the end they even used Mr Z for some filming.
The library in the area is planning to tear it down and it is going to be a new library.
UPDATE 2021: The fire department has done training on it and it will be torn down soon. T
They are turning it into a new Library I live thire
First
at 0:15 why the black scribble in the corner.
My plate number showing.
The library said they’re gonna buy out the place
So sad, another COVID casualty
Was closed way before covid
they closed in 2013.