What the store lacked in competitive prices, it more than made up for in convenience and personal service from Alex Espinoza, who ran the store almost single-handedly for owner Pankaj Patel. Marina Food & Liquor was a convenience store that served Marina City for 12 years. Marina Towering Corporation signed a lease for the space on the concourse level in September 2001. (Left) Marina Food & Liquor on December 17, 2009. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

At one time, the store was stocked by what is now Central Grocers, a retail co-op owned by the Illinois supermarkets that it supplies. The store struggled financially for months and then called it quits. Its last day was March 24, 2014.

On November 10, 2014, a building permit was issued to an officer of Kammad Corporation to renovate the commercial space. Kammad owned three small grocery stores, including South Loop Market at 235 West Van Buren Street.

(Above) All that remained of Marina Food & Liquor on April 2, 2014.

View from behind the counter.

Inside one of three coolers.

View from near one of the other coolers.

A room at the back of the store. Directly ahead, past the cooling equipment, is the cooler in the northeast corner.

Food service area that, admittedly, had not been utilized for many years.