The market for a grocery store in the southern part of DeKalb has opened, and Mayor Greg Sparrow and his staff are eager to fill the hole.

After declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, the two Eagle Food Stores in DeKalb closed their doors about four weeks ago. So far there have only been rumors about another store moving in.

“The people on the south side of town want to have a store in their vicinity,” City Clerk Donna Johnson said. “People need a convenient place to buy food.”

On Thursday, Eagle Food Centers announced the sale of 19 of its stores to seven different grocers. The two DeKalb stores were not among them.

“I know of two different people who have expressed interest,” Johnson said.

The two chains mentioned were Jewel and Sullivan’s. Sullivan’s expressed interest in the property if they will be allowed to sell alcohol there.

However, there have been some concerns because one of the buildings is located near DeKalb High School. Illinois state law prevents any business with a Class A liquor license from being issued to any property that is 100 feet or less from a public school.

Johnson said DeKalb High School has not expressed concern over the issue. She also said that the city is willing to work with parties that are interested in selling packaged liquor. However, it is a state law, and therefore there would have to be some maneuvering to make sure it was within legal boundaries.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Sparrow said. “The people need to know that a lot of what happens depends on the property owner.”

In the wake of the closure of the Eagle stores, there have been some rumors surfacing about a store being built somewhere near Greek Row.

“It’s very possible,” Johnson said. “Large chains don’t like to build near universities because there isn’t a year-round customer base.”

However, she also said most private businesses do not like to announce new stores until very late into their planning stages, this is primarily because competing chains will begin looking into moving into the area as well.