A familiar Elgin grocery sign is about to disappear, but shoppers at Clock Tower Plaza will not be losing their neighborhood market. Butera’s final remaining store is being handed over to Frank’s Freshway Market, bringing a new owner, expanded food offerings and the end of a 63-year local grocery run.
Starting Tuesday, the Clock Tower Plaza store will operate as Frank’s Freshway Market, according to Daily Herald. Co-owner Frank Casaccio said the family plans to grow the produce department, expand the carryout and hot-food menu, and add more products aimed at Elgin’s diverse Hispanic population.
Frank’s Freshway Expands Its Local Grocery Footprint
The change will make the Clock Tower Plaza location Frank’s fourth store. The company’s official website describes Frank’s Freshway Market as a family-owned, fourth-generation grocery business and lists locations in Genoa, South Elgin and Elgin’s Tyler Creek Plaza.
Frank’s expansion comes after the company purchased two other former Butera stores in the area in 2024. For shoppers, that means the handoff is less about an empty storefront and more about a familiar grocery format continuing under a different family name.
A Grocery Anchor With Deep Elgin History
The Clock Tower Plaza site has long been tied to local food shopping. A City of Elgin planning document describes the 11.5-acre shopping center as having more than 122,000 square feet of leasable space and being anchored by the grocery store.
Butera purchased the Clock Tower Plaza location in 1989, moving into a space previously operated by Gromer Supermarket. The shopping center itself sits on the former site of the Elgin National Watch Co., whose buildings were demolished in 1966, according to the Daily Herald’s account.
Shoppers Are Still Chasing Better Deals
The transition arrives as grocery budgets remain under pressure. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that food-at-home prices rose 2.7% over the 12 months ending in June, while fruits and vegetables climbed 5.3%.
That helps explain why price-conscious shoppers have made Butera’s sales a regular destination, including one customer who told the Daily Herald she travels from Bartlett to Elgin because the store’s prices often beat Jewel. With Frank’s planning more produce, hot food and culturally specific grocery items, the new operator is betting that the plaza’s bargain-hunting crowd will keep coming back.
Butera’s 63-Year Run Comes To A Close
Butera announced in a newspaper advertisement that the Clock Tower Plaza store would be its final location, thanking customers for their loyalty after 63 years in business. Other remaining Butera locations have also changed hands, including stores acquired by Shop & Save Market in Algonquin, Harwood Heights and Norridge.
For Elgin shoppers, the immediate change is straightforward: the Butera branding is going away Tuesday, but the grocery anchor at Clock Tower Plaza is staying put. The produce aisle, hot-food counter and weekly search for a good deal are all expected to get a Freshway-era reset.
