Peapod makes its home in the Windy City

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday joined Peapod to announce the company is relocating its headquarters to downtown Chicago at 300 S. Riverside Plaza.



"Peapod is a national leader in both the food and tech industries and will be a strong addition to Chicago's thriving innovation community," Emanuel shared during a press conference. "In Chicago, the company can continue to expand, create new jobs and contribute to our growing economy."



"Over the last 28 years, Peapod has revolutionized the way people across the nation shop for groceries," said Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.  "My administration is proud to work with companies that embrace innovation and push our economy forward. I will continue to work hard to support great companies and make our state an even better place to do business."



"Since Peapod was founded in Chicago in 1989 as the country's first online grocer, we have always considered this city our home," Walt Lentz, acting president of Peapod said. "Moving our headquarters downtown will allow us to become a bigger part of the Chicago business community and invest in the city's diverse pool of talent while also growing our business throughout the country."



The new location is expected to be complete in the spring of 2018, at which time the headquarters will transfer from the current Skokie, Ill. location. All employees at Peapod's current Skokie headquarters will be relocating to the new Chicago headquarters.



With the move Peapod joins a number of other food industry leaders that have relocated to Chicago, including McDonald's, Conagra Brands, ADM, Mead Johnson, Beam Suntory, Kraft Heinz and Oscar Mayer.