Patel Brothers Scion Rakesh Patel Buys Suburban Chicago Estate

A Patel Brothers Group executive purchased a $5.75 million Highland Park lakefront mansion last month.

Rakesh Patel, who is co-CEO of the grocery chain, is the benefactor of a land trust that purchased the home, Crain’s reported. The 7,800-square-foot home at 959 Sheridan Road sold for $737 per square foot.

The seller was Frank Jimenez, who is general counsel for GE Healthcare, and his wife, Deborah. Kelly Rynes of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices represented the seller, and Khrystyna Patel of Komar Real Estate represented the buyer.

The five-bedroom home was Highland Park’s highest-priced home sale since 2021, except for the $9.5 million sale of Michael Jordan’s estate last year. The home was on the market for 17 days and features an extra-large beach developed by the previous owners. It’s also within walking distance of a $14.5 million public beach stabilization project just south of the home.

This sale is one of 92 Chicago-area home sales in the above $4 million-range so far this year. Last year ended with 106 sales in that range. Fellow co-CEO and Rakesh’s brother Swetal Patel bought a Lakeview home in 2014 for $1.94 million.

The Patel Brothers Group began as a 900-square-foot grocery store on Devon Avenue in Chicago in 1974, founded by brothers Tulsi and Mafat Patel — Rakesh Patel’s father and uncle — with the intention of sourcing South Asian ingredients for consumers in the United States, with a mission to “reconnect people with the familiar flavors of India.” Devon Avenue subsequently grew into a hub for shops catering to Indian immigrants over the years.

The business has grown into a 52-store national chain that is now helmed by the second generation of brothers.

Rakesh Patel is reportedly looking for ways to expand the Patel Brothers Group into other industries, such as shopping center development, insurance and health care.

— Eric Weilbacher