Supermarket/Grocery

Leading Midwestern retailer Shopko has reopened its garden centers and has reiterated its commitment to environmental sustainability as the world marks this year’s Earth Day.

Queens, N.Y. — The Children’s Place has leased a 3,799-sq.-ft. space near other child focused retailers at The Shops at SkyView Center in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, N.Y. The retailer plans to open in May.

Cincinnati -- Associates working at Kroger stores in the Atlanta metro and surrounding area have ratified new labor agreements with UFCW Local 1996. The contracts cover 23,598 associates working in 163 stores in the Atlanta area and 12 in Savannah.

The Hillshire Brands Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Catterton portfolio company Van’s Natural Foods. Van’s is a leading better-for-you food brand of frozen breakfast and snack foods.

Hillshire Brands will pay $165 million for Van’s, which is expected to have net revenues of approximately $60 million in calendar year 2014. The transaction is expected to close in May 2014 pending regulatory clearance.

Oak Brook, Ill. — Inland Real Estate Income Trust has acquired two shopping centers in Texas, and Florida, in separate transactions: Mansfield Pointe Shopping Center in Mansfield, Texas, and North Hills Square Shopping Center in Coral Springs, Fla.

IREIT acquired the 148,529-sq.-ft. Mansfield Pointe for $28.4 million and the 63,829-sq.-ft. North Hills Square Shopping Center for $11.05 million.

Milwaukee -- Roundy’s, Inc. will open Mariano’s Edgewater in Chicago on April 22. Edgewater is the fifth Mariano’s store to open of the 11 former Dominick’s locations acquired by Roundy’s in December 2013, and the eighth in the city of Chicago.

Store features will include a Vero Italian coffee and gelato shop, Squeez’d smoothie bar, and access to “Mariano’s Tastemakers,” 14 chefs and lifestyle experts who provide demos and advice.

Austin, Texas -- Whole Foods Market claimed the honor for best brand on Pinterest at the Shorty (the Shorties) Awards on April 7. The Shorties are an annual awards event that honors the best short-form content creators on Twitter and on other social media sites.

Whole Foods Market joined Pinterest in 2011, and currently has 180,000 followers.

Whole Foods is experimenting with transforming food waste generated at stores into organic fertilizer by using a piece of equipment called the WISErg Harvester.

The Harvester is a piece of equipment with a footprint about the size of a typical pallet that promises to change the way retailers dispose of food waste. The Harvester unit ingests food scraps from overripe produce and unsold prepared foods and converts them into a liquid that can be made into an organic fertilizer.