The Aurora-based Fruit Market Inc. is looking to move to DeKalb and attract customers of the local Eagle Country Markets which closed in October.

Company owners are negotiating a deal to purchase the former Sawyer Auto Imports location at 460 E. Lincoln Highway.

The store could be open by the end of the year, company general manager Jim Stathopoulos said.

DeKalb Fresh Market would offer a full line of products, but will emphasize fresh fruits, vegetables and meats, Stathopoulos said.

The store likely will include a selection of organic foods to match local consumer tastes, he added.

“We see a lot of professionals, college students and working people in the area,” Stathopoulos said. “We’ll try to cater to all of them.”

Stathopoulos said the store will have a Hispanic flavor and should do well with DeKalb’s Hispanic population.

If the DeKalb deal closes, the store will stock a full line of products in 8,000 square feet of sales floor, Stathopoulos said.

Should a deal on the property not be reached, the company still will pursue a DeKalb location, Stathopoulos said.

The company has been looking at the DeKalb area for about a year, and the Eagle closings helped convince the company to move into the city, he said.

It currently operates two stores in Aurora and Calumet Park , with two other stores opening soon – one in Maywood and another in Calumet Park.

The city is continuing to court potential tenants for the former Eagle building on the city’s south side where there currently is no grocery store, said Paul Rasmussen, DeKalb’s community development director.

“[The Eagle closings] had a really big impact on the people on the south side,” Rasmussen said. ”We’re working really hard to bring someone in.”

There also is some interest in putting a new grocery store up on South Annie Glidden Road, Rasmussen said.