Meijer plans to close grocery stores in Berwyn and Melrose Park this summer because of lagging sales, the company announced Tuesday.

The Berwyn store, which opened in 2012, and the Melrose Park location, open since 2011, will close June 17, according to a Meijer news release. About 300 employees will be affected by the store closings, though some will find employment at other Meijer stores in the area. Employees were notified Tuesday.

Spokesman Frank Guglielmi said both stores were underperforming in terms of sales volume, but declined to provide any additional details on why the sites will close. Meijer, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., is a privately held company.

The Berwyn and Melrose Park stores, both about 90,000 square feet, are considered smaller-format stores for Meijer, which has been more successful in the Chicago suburbs with its "supercenters" that are typically closer to 200,000 square feet, Guglielmi said.

Meijer to launch grocery delivery this summer in Chicago-area stores Greg Trotter

Meijer will offer a new home delivery service for groceries at all its suburban Chicago stores by midsummer, Meijer CEO Rick Keyes said Thursday.

Consider it the latest salvo in what is sure to become an all-out war for your online grocery dollars. Throughout the country, retailers are scrambling...

Meijer will offer a new home delivery service for groceries at all its suburban Chicago stores by midsummer, Meijer CEO Rick Keyes said Thursday.

Consider it the latest salvo in what is sure to become an all-out war for your online grocery dollars. Throughout the country, retailers are scrambling...

(Greg Trotter)

Guglielmi said the Chicago area continues to be an important market for Meijer, which has invested more than $200 million in nine new Illinois supercenters, primarily in suburban Chicago, over the past five years.

Meijer has 21 stores in the Chicago market, which includes the Rockford area. Three of them — in Bloomingdale, Algonquin and McHenry — will be remodeled this year as part of a $375 million capital investment announced earlier this month.

Meijer also owns property in Kankakee, Aurora and Hoffman Estates and could eventually develop those sites, Guglielmi said.

Employees who don't take jobs at other stores will be offered severance packages, the company said.

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