Gambling at the grocery store used to mean taking a chance that the expensive fish you were eyeing was indeed fresh. A family-owned grocery chain is taking that farther, however, by installing video gaming terminals in the cafe seating sections of some of its stores.
Customers of Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets in Norridge will soon be able to partake in video gaming as part of their shopping experience, CEO Robertino Presta said Friday.
The Norridge Village Board granted Caputo’s, 4410 N. Harlem Ave., a gaming license at the board’s Jan. 24 meeting.
Caputo’s requested the license as part of its proposal to open a store in Norridge and has since met all of the necessary requirements, said Trustee Jack Bielak, chairman of the board’s Law & Ordinance & Economic Development Committee.
“It was discussed and determined during the development process,” Bielak said. “They were compliant. They got the state’s participation. Now they’re getting the village’s participation.”
Presta said he was pleased to finally get the license for the new store, which opened in August after an eight-month delay caused by a supply chain issue.
“I didn’t anticipate any issues with it,” he said of getting the license. “We have them in our other stores. We just needed to get it on the agenda.”
Video gaming machines are fairly popular in the chain’s nine other stores, located in Elmwood Park, Addison, Carol Stream, Bloomingdale, Hanover Park, South Elgin, Naperville, Orland Park and Mount Prospect, Presta said.
“They do OK,” he said. “We’ve got them in our eating areas. People seem to enjoy them.”
Caputo’s first entertained the idea of video gaming when Carol Stream Mayor Frank Saverino suggested installing a machine in the company’s store in his town, Presta said.
“I said, ‘I never thought of putting one in a grocery store,’” Presta recalled. “He said, ‘Put it in. The demographic for them is your customer, middle-aged to older customers and a lot of women.’ They enjoy them. People like them.”
Each store cordons off the gaming machines from the rest of the dining area, so minors cannot access them, Presta said.
“They’re all blocked in,” he said.
Presta said he expects to activate the store’s video gaming equipment for use within about a week.
Business at the Norridge store has been good so far.
“It’s just about what was expected,” he said. “We’re familiar with the area.”
Presta said he opened the Norridge store, which is just 20 blocks north of its flagship store in Elmwood Park, because Norridge-area customers requested it.
The dining area, which features prepared foods and hot dishes, has become very popular since Caputo’s first introduced hot foods at its Hanover Park store in 1996, Presta said.
A variety of Italian dishes are offered, including chicken Vesuvio, salmon piccata, blackened salmon and grilled salmon.
Cold foods include American submarine sandwiches, Italian submarine sandwiches, octopus salad and bocconcini, or fresh mozzarella cheese balls. Store-baked goods include cannoli and other traditional pastries.
Norridge has issued more than 20 video gaming licenses to businesses in the village, Bielak said.