The Dominick's at Gateway Centre closed late last year as the store's owner Safeway pulled out of the Chicago market. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard

ROGERS PARK — A "sophisticated grocer" has entered negotiations to lease the former Dominick's store in Rogers Park's Gateway Centre, said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).

In an email to constituents, Moore wouldn't identify the interested party, and cautioned "it is by no means guaranteed that [negotiations] will reach a successful conclusion."

Dominick's parent company, Safeway Inc., exited the Chicago market a few days after Christmas, closing its 72 Dominick's grocery stores.

Three of the four former Dominick's on the Far North Side have already been leased by other grocers, while the Gateway Centre location — the shopping destination's main retail space — has languished.

Cermak Fresh Market announced last month it would be taking over the shuttered Dominick's nearby at 6623 N. Damen Ave.

In Edgewater, Mariano's plans to open soon in the former Dominick's at Foster Avenue and Sheridan Road and Whole Foods announced it would open at the former Dominick's at 6009 N. Broadway next year.

Moore was appointed in December to a mayoral task force formed to find replacements for all of the city's shuttered Dominick's locations.

Out of the 15 closed stores in Chicago, only four remain unclaimed, Moore said.

Some independent grocers in the area, however, have welcomed former Dominick's shoppers and enjoyed a bump in sales in recent months.