Walt’s grocery sells to Mokena-based Berkot’s after 88 years
Addison Wright, Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.)
Thu, September 25, 2025 at 2:24 PM EDT
The Lagestee family announced Wednesday they plan to sell its south suburban grocery chain, Walt’s, to Mokena-based Berkot’s, ending an 88-year run of the family owned grocery that started in South Holland.
All four Walt’s stores will be added to the 16 stores operated by Berkot’s Super foods across the Chicago suburbs and southern Wisconsin. Walt’s has three supermarkets in Illinois, in Homewood, Crete and Beecher, and one in Dyer, Indiana.
Walt’s closed a store in Tinley Park, 16039 S. Harlem Ave., in June 2021. Walt’s had been an anchor in Tinley Park Plaza since 1984. In late 2018, Walt’s closed a store in Frankfort, 20825 S. La Grange Road.
The Walt’s sale is planned to close at the end of October to early November, and the family will continue to operate its Crete Ace Hardware in Crete, according to a company news release.
The Berkot’s management team will be available to discuss hiring and the transition of Walt’s employees in the coming weeks, according to the release.
Employees received a letter from the Lagestee family notifying them of the sale Wednesday, saying the decision was difficult and not made lightly.
“We are confident that Berkot’s Super Foods, as another family-owned independent grocery chain, will continue to operate these stores with the same family values we have held for all these decades: community involvement, employee family, service and quality at great savings,” the letter stated.
Homewood Village President Rich Hofeld said Walt’s is a neighborhood gathering spot and down-home type place, where he’s shopped since the 1970s.
The store had a coffee pot for seniors, he said, and even ordered a specialty yogurt every week for his wife, Marilyn Hofeld, after she requested the item, without knowing her connection to him, he said.
He said he remembers the founder, Walt Lagastee, checking on the store in person, walking up and down the aisles to make sure they “look good.”
“Walt’s is a Homewood institution that everyone treasures, and everyone goes there,” Hofeld said. “A legacy family runs a good business and is active in the community.”
The grocery chain was founded by Walt Lagestee as a fruit stand, South Holland Mayor Don De Graff recalled last year when the flagship store closed.
Jennel Hooper, director of the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce, said they never want to see a Chamber member leave, but knows the decision was not made lightly.
“After 88 years of service, the Walt’s grocery chain’s presence has been more than just a place to pick up groceries and has left an indelible mark on the communities they have served,” Hooper said. “Walt’s has been a place where generations of families have shopped and has become part of our stories.”
John Lagestee, senior president of Walt’s Food Centers, thanked the grocery’s longtime customers and staff in a company statement.
“We would like to thank the communities we did business in and the customers who have shopped at our locations over the many decades, as well as the dedicated team of employees who have worked diligently to provide service to our customers,” Lagestee said.
Berkot’s began as a single-location grocery store in 1990 in Mokena, opened by resident John Kotara, who had been a manager for A&P, according to the company’s website. The company is now part of Associated Wholesale Grocers, a cooperative that serves over 3,500 independent grocery retailers across the United States, according to the website.
