Dominick's Moving Out of Chicago; Jewel-Osco Buys 1340 S. Canal Dominick's

Dominick's at 1340 S. Canal

So apparently it's a big grocery store news week in Chicago and the Sloop.

Earlier this week it was the much anticipated opening of Mariano's at 1615 S. Clark.  Late yesterday it was news that Dominick's was closing all stores in Chicago (via Chicago Tribune):

Dominick's parent Safeway Inc. said Thursday it will leave the Chicago market by next year. 

What happens next for the 72 Chicago area Dominick's locations is still unclear. Safeway said it's trying to sell as many of the stores as quickly as it can, adding that it's likely to fetch multiple buyers as opposed to a single grocer that would take over every location.

What is clear is that Jewel-Osco has bought the Dominick's store at 1340 S. Canal (via Chicago Tribune):

Safeway issued a release late Thursday afternoon saying it had already sold four Dominick's to the operator of Jewel-Ocso stores. They are at 1340 S. Canal St. and 2550 N. Clybourn Ave. in Chicago; 14200 S. Bell Rd., Homer Glen; and 1340 Patriot Blvd., Glenview.

Apparently the Dominick's at 1340 S. Canal will transition to Jewel-Osco according to a press release on digitaljournal.com:

During a short transition period, the stores will continue to operate under the Dominick's banner until Jewel-Osco can complete their conversion to Jewel-Osco stores. Dominick's will be working with Jewel-Osco and the unions to ease the transition for store employees, and to facilitate continued employment for as many of them as possible. 

So that's surprising on many levels to us:

1. Is Jewel-Osco planning on closing their current South Loop store at Roosevelt and Wabash?
2. Is the Dominick's at 1340 S. Canal bigger or more desirable than the Jewel-Osco at Roosevelt/Wabash?
3. If Jewel-Osco is closing, what does that mean for the extremely high profile space at Roosevelt/Wabash?

Obviously some of the questions are hypothetical and will probably play out over the next couple of months or years.

To take another big leap, we've heard rumors last year about a mixed use residential/retail building replacing the Jewel-Osco - however we were always skeptical about this one.

What do you make of this new?

(Hat tip:  MR!)