Sendik’s planning major redevelopment of its Whitefish Bay store site

The Sendik’s Food Market store in Whitefish Bay, a neighborhood staple since it opened in the 1940s, could be getting a major overhaul.

Sendik’s plans to redevelop the site at 500 E. Silver Spring Drive with a new multimillion-dollar, two-story grocery store — one that third-generation co-owner Ted Balistreri says will be the “finest grocery store in the state of Wisconsin.”

The new store will be built in place of a single-story office and retail building located along North Lake Drive just east of the existing store. That building was most recently home to Sendik’s corporate office, which is now located at 7225 W. Marcia Road in Milwaukee. The existing grocery store will remain open through the duration of the project and, once the new store opens, will be demolished to make way for a new 119-space parking lot.

“We’re the only grocery store in Whitefish Bay and feel that it’s important that we stay open even during construction,” Balistreri said in an interview with BizTimes.

According to project plans submitted to the Village of Whitefish Bay, the project has an estimated cost of between $8 million and $10 million and is expected to be complete by June 20, 2026. Construction is set to begin in January.

The project was discussed and was granted preliminary approval by the Village Plan Commission on Monday night, but it will need to clear more levels of approval before it’s finalized, according to village deputy clerk Erin Granstrom.

Once completed, the new Sendik’s in Whitefish Bay will offer a shopping experience much like that of the company’s other full-line stores that have opened or undergone renovations in recent years, including those in Brookfield, Oconomowoc, Waukesha and Mequon. The grocery store will take over the building’s 36,000-square-foot ground floor, while the 38,000-square-foot second floor will feature a retail area, bar and community gathering space as well as an employee work area and storage.

Sendik’s Whitefish Bay store has been expanded and renovated multiple times since it was built in 1949 as one of the grocer’s first locations. Its most recent addition project was in 2009.

“It’s pretty much served its useful life, and rather than trying to remodel or improve what’s already there, we’ve made the decision to build a new building with all the modern amenities and conveniences that go along that,” Balistreri said.

The project has been a long time coming, he said. Internal discussions have been ongoing for the past five years and Sendik’s officially began talks with the village about six months ago.

Project plans call for reconstruction of the streetscaping along East Silver Spring and North Lake Drive as well as the reconfiguration of portions of North Consaul Place and East Beaumont Avenue for better traffic flow and additional street parking. Sendik’s has also proposed that the site be re-zoned as a Planned Development District.

Milwaukee-based Madisen Maher Architects is the project architect and Nashotah-based MSI General is the general contractor.

Sendik’s currently operates 18 locations across southeastern Wisconsin and employs about 2,000 people, including 160 at the Whitefish Bay store.

The company anticipates the project will drive a 20% increase in business at its Whitefish Bay store, said co-owner Nick Balistreri during Monday’s plan commission meeting. Some of that influx may come from customers who live nearby by but choose to drive to other Sendik’s locations such as Mequon, which has a larger footprint and greater variety of products.

Sendik’s proposed redevelopment is moving forward as another big project takes shape just down the street at the former Fox Bay Theater. That building is currently being transformed into an entertainment and events venue, called The Argo, set to open in late 2025.