Mariano's Buzzing With Activity In Preparation For Tuesday's Grand Opening

On Wednesday afternoon, there were so many cars in the lot at Mariano's Fresh Market in Elmhurst, it looked like the store already was open for business. But those were the vehicles of more than 100 workers putting the finishing touches on both the inside and the outside of the store.

On Wednesday, flowers and other plants were being watered, store employees were being briefed, and people who looked like contractors surveyed the results of a year's worth of work, making sure the store gleamed.

Alex Poulis, an employee with RW Rogers, was cleaning up the carts and cart corrals in the parking lot. He commented on the nearly full lot.

"It almost looks like it's a fully functioning store," he said.

But a Mariano's employee who was kind enough to open the automatic sliding glass doors confirmed the opening is Tuesday at 6 a.m. No soft, "pre-opening" either.

A quick peek around her and into the store revealed the produce section, with empty bins marked "Organic" just waiting to be filled when those delivery trucks begin rolling in over the next week.

Our wait is finally coming to an end. See you Tuesday!