Brothers behind Olivo Tacos plan new deli market in Rockford’s Midtown

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The brothers behind Olivo Tacos, which has multiple restaurants and food trucks around the Rockford area, plan to bring a new deli and small grocery market to the city’s Midtown District.

Olivo Deli Market, 321 Seventh St., will feature ready-made and build-your-own sub sandwiches, a variety of sliced deli meats, ground beef and chicken. There will also be croissants, cheesecakes and other bakery items, frozen foods such as pizza and prepared dinners, and grocery items such as eggs, milk, cheese and a small stock of fresh produce.

Much like Olivo Tacos — which continues to offer a three tacos for $5 deal about seven years after its fouding — the focus will be on affordability, Said and Mahmud Zatar said. The deli will offer 99-cent coffee and $5 sub sandwiches.

“The key is to have people come in here and they’ll find with $10 they can literally have a good meal all day,” Mahmud Zatar said. “Me and my brother, that’s what we build in every community: It’s the value of how many people can come in and win with what we have.”

The brothers’ goal is to open by late July.

They bought the former Discount Cigarettes & Pop in late February and gutted the 2,000-square-foot space and renovated it with new flooring, plumbing and other fixes.

It’s located next door to Midtown Fitness, across the street from Hai Quynh Vietnamese Restaurant and near dozens of seniors living in the nine-story Valkommen Plaza senior living community.

“We’re super excited to have Said and Mahmud bring the deli market to this area. They could’ve went anywhere and they decided to come to the Midtown District,” said Keith Young, owner of Midtown Fitness and executive director for the Midtown District Association. “Once they open it’s going to bring more customers to the area, and we’re going to become more of a flourishing community again like we were in the past.”

Olivo Deli expects its produce options to align with the food it offers at its multiple taco trucks and its future deli. That means items such as tomatoes, potatoes and jalapenos. They also plan to have house-made tamales and halal and kosher options. They’ll offer free coffee for first responders.

“We’d like to prove a point with this store, hopefully, that anything focused on the community will succeed all the time,” Said Zatar said. “We proved it with the tacos for all these years — we stood our ground with the same price, everybody tried to tell us to raise it, even companies. We didn’t go for it.”

Tobacco pushback

The brothers faced pushback on their plans for the deli to include cigarette and tobacco products for sale.

A license to sell tobacco requires approval from City Council, and the council’s Code & Regulation Committee voted 2-2 last week on the proposal to include tobacco. That is considered a failed measure because three affirmative votes were required for it to pass. Now, it heads to the City Council on July 7 with a negative recommendation from the panel.

“So much work has been done to get this area — to really shake it of its past reputation, and I just think adding more tobacco doesn’t align with there that community is headed,” Alderwoman Gabrielle Torina said of her no vote. “Corner stores and mini-markets signal for me disinvestment versus investment.”

She said cigarette sales could draw loitering and the type of foot traffic that harms the Midtown District.

“I think we have an opportunity to set a higher standard for that area,” Torina said. “It wouldn’t go in Edgebrook, so it shouldn’t go on Seventh Street.”

Mahmud Zatar said tobacco sales would be just a small portion of their business, and there would be no pipes or vapes sold in the store.

The brothers said they decided to include tobacco after speaking with residents in the area and hearing from some that they wanted to be able to pick up cigarettes with their grocery items without having to go somewhere else.

“We applied for that reason,” Mahmud Zatar said. “When they come buy a sandwich and cereal, milk and all that, and put it on the counter and ask for a packet of cigarettes that we don’t have, we don’t want to lose their business.”

Alderman Tamir Bell also voted against allowing tobacco sales.

“To me, this isn’t just a policy decision – it’s a values decision,” Bell said of his no vote at committee. “We can’t say we’re fighting food insecurity while making choices that hurt the health of the very neighborhoods we’re trying to uplift.”

Bell said he’s had several conversations with the Zatar brothers about their vision for the deli market since casting his initial no vote. He supports their efforts to bring fresh food and produce to that area of Midtown, but not the portion of the business that would sell tobacco.

“They have my full support in their efforts to bring fresh, affordable food to the neighborhoods that have gone too long without it,” Bell said.

Alderwoman Janessa Wilkins and Alderman Mark Bonne where the two votes in favor at the committee level. Wilkins said tobacco sales at the deli is not unlike what larger grocery stores offer.  She said the Zatar brothers’ positive track record with their restaurants and food trucks shows they deserve the council’s support.

“They have proven time and time again that they are willing to invest in our community,” she said. “To my knowledge we haven’t had any issues at any of their businesses … They’ve done good business. They’ve supported. They’ve given back. For them to have so many successful businesses, not even here but as they’ve expanded throughout the country, I can’t help but support this.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas