1 of 4
St. Louis' first The Fresh Market is slated to move into the former Schnucks space at Clayton and Hanley Roads, according to Randy Lipton of The Lipton Group.
2 of 4
3 of 4
4 of 4
For 50 years, there's been a grocery store on northeast corner of Clayton and Hanley Roads. If all goes as planned, that legacy will continue.
According to Randy Lipton of The Lipton Group, owner of the property, The Fresh Market (Roseville, CA store at left) has issued a letter of intent to open a store on the 3.3-acre site, inside the existing building last occupied by a Schnucks market. Lipton indicated that although several other grocers are nearby, location history and demographics are on his side, and although a lease has yet to be signed, this was “more than just an expression of interest.”
Originally a Bettendorf's store, Schnucks elected to vacate the single-story, 33,000-square-foot building (right) in 2003 to move to a larger facility at Richmond Center, one mile to the east. The property has been vacant since that time.
In the meantime, the future of the site has been the subject of much conjecture, with rumors of a high-rise residential project, any and every retail grocer you can name, and most recently, a fitness facility. A proposal for a 200-room hotel and 227,000-square-feet of office and retail space fell apart in 2010.
The Fresh Market, a 31-year old North Carolina-based national grocer with 130 stores in more than 20 states, was a privately held company until nine years ago. It has earned a reputation as a smaller footprint, more approachable grocery store, one with impeccably high standards and particularly well known for locally sourced produce (South Miami Beach store below). For comparison, one customer familiar with the concept referred to it as “a cross between Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.”
Lipton noted that since the average Fresh Market store averages 21,000 to 24,000-square-feet, there may be an opportunity within the building for appropriate “ancillary businesses.”
Upon hearing the news, one neighbor in the nearby Moorlands neighborhood commented: “It’s a good fit for the community... It fulfills a long-term need rather than a short-term one. That corner could have been a nail salon, a Jimmy John’s, a CVS…or all three.”
The Fresh Market website indicates “my store” (i.e. the closest store) is in Normal, Ill. The corner of Clayton and Hanley sure is a heck of a lot closer.
