BUSINESS PROFILES
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Palatine is fortunate to be served by a variety of businesses – from those that primarily serve local residents, to those that manufacture and distribute goods around the country and the world.
EUROFRESH MARKET Eurofresh Market, 130 W. Northwest Hwy., is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Guido Tenuta founded the grocery store in 1996 after partnering for over 25 years with his uncle in two fruit markets in Chicago. The first, A & G Fruit Market on Central Avenue, has since been sold, but Family Fruit Market in Portage Park is still owned by the family and run by a cousin, said Rosanna Tenuta, manager of Eurofresh Market and Guido’s daughter. Guido also co-owns Joseph’s Marketplace in Crystal Lake. “My dad was living in Inverness back in the 1990s and he would drive by this Palatine location often,” Rosanna recalled. “It had been an Eagle Foods and then a store called Water Tower Market and my dad considered it a dream location. So when he decided to expand and go out on his own, he purchased the whole plaza and opened Eurofresh Market.” Rosanna has been manager of the 30,000-square-foot store for the past 15 years. Her husband, Raf Fernandes, is the store supervisor and her sister, Arianna Tenuta, is also involved in store management. Guido is now semi-retired but he occasionally goes to the market to choose produce and still oversees things at the store six days a week. The family is supplemented by a “great and loyal crew of employees,” she said. “What sets us apart from our competition is the fact that we have fresh produce delivered seven days a week and we carry unusual items that you won’t find in most stores – items that are used in Hispanic, Italian and Asian cooking, in particular. We also carry a wide variety of meats and cheeses in our deli that are natural and both preservative free and nitrate free. We are a full-service grocery store. You can buy everything you need at Eurofresh Market,” she said. “The grocery business has become very competitive. We work hard to keep our customers satisfied and coming back,” Rosanna said.
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WEBER-STEPHEN PRODUCTS, LLC Weber-Stephen Products LLC has been a part of Palatine since 1982. They currently fabricate and assemble their Genesis and Summit gas grills at the facility on East Daniels Street, as well as some of their small Smokey Joe charcoal grills, said James Stephen, executive chairman and son of the founder, George Stephen. The story of Stephen’s invention of the grill in 1952 has become legendary. He had developed a love for outdoor cooking while serving in the Army but was frustrated with the open brazier grilling technique available at the time. He wanted to protect his food from the elements and seal in a tasty smoked flavor. Stephen worked for Weber Brothers Metal Works, at the time, which was manufacturing metal buoys for the Chicago Yacht Club and he became inspired. He crafted the first incarnation of the Weber Grill by cutting one of those metal buoys in half, drilling holes in both the bottom and the lid and adding two wire grates. By 1954 he was selling his grills in earnest, so he purchased the Weber Brothers company and re-named it Weber-Stephen Products. Over the years the product line evolved. They introduced the Genesis line of gas grills in 1985, which revolutionized the industry. In recent years, smaller Weber gas grills have become popular at sporting events and with city dwellers with small outdoor spaces. In 2010 the Stephen family sold a majority interest in the business to a Chicago-based investment firm “for estate planning reasons” because George Stephen left behind 12 children when he died in 1993, James Stephen said. They continue to run the firm, however, and retained total ownership of the four Weber Grill Restaurants in Chicago, Schaumburg, Lombard and Indianapolis. Currently, the firm is working on further embracing its consumers with cookbooks, a Grilling Academy and some smartphone apps because they feel there is still growth potential in North America. Internationally, Weber products are plentiful in Western Europe, Central America and Australia and they are actively pioneering the products in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. “It takes time to become part of the culinary fabric of each country, but we are successful because we embrace the local cuisine and lifestyle in each country we enter,” he said. Most recently, Weber-Stephen purchased the former Schneider Electric building at Roselle Road and Euclid Avenue in Palatine in order to consolidate its sales, finance, customer service and other administrative offices into one location.
www.palatinechamber.com
7/1/2016 12:45:47 PM