By Kylie Balk Yaatenen - October 24th 2024
JANESVILLE
A 12,000-square-foot grocery store is proposed to be built on Janesville’s southside, seven years after a Pick ‘N Save closed there, the city announced Wednesday.
In a release, the city said Santa Maria Supermarket, LLC a family-owned Hispanic grocery store in Madison, plans to open a location at 1820 Center Ave., adjacent to a planned future Kwik Trip. The release said Santa Maria Supermarket plans to offer fresh produce, household essentials, a butcher, bakery, shelf-stable and frozen foods, and a taqueria.
The proposed site of the new grocery store is in a strip mall next door to the former Rock County Job Center on Center Avenue. It is across Center Avenue from the former Pick 'N Save, that now houses the Rock County Job Center.
“We are excited to partner with Santa Maria Supermarket to address a critical need on Janesville’s southside. We recognize that an opportunity to purchase fresh produce and family staples has been a resource that has been missed by our southside residents,” Janesville City Manager Kevin Lahner said in the release, which noted that the plans for the new grocery story align with the city’s strategic plan.
Messages left Wednesday by The Gazette for the owners of Santa Maria Supermarket were not immediately returned.
The plan is for Santa Maria Supermarket to open by January.
Jimsi Kuborn, the city of Janesville’s economic development director, said the owners of Santa Maria Supermarket were looking to expand into other communities and saw a gap in the market for a grocery store in Janesville. She said the Madison store offers items for sale similar to what is envisioned in Janesville.
To assist in the renovation of the property, the city council is considering awarding the owners of Santa Maria Supermarket a $50,000 grant out of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
ARPA funds can be used to make capital improvements and/or pay for one-time expenses, such as start-up costs or time-limited programming for beneficial and/or benevolent uses, activities, and/or purposes that would make or facilitate a positive, long-term, beneficial impact in the community, the release said.
The council will vote on awarding the grant at its next meeting Monday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m., at City Hall.
City Council reaction
City Council member Heather Miller, who lives on the southside, expressed in an interview Wednesday with The Gazette both excitement and surprise.
Miller said she and Cathy Erdman, a Cathy Erdman, a member of the Hedberg Public Library Board of Trustees and City of Janesville Advisory Committee on Appointments, together serve on a southside neighborhood group called Southside Now — SNOW. Miller said the group could have been better included in discussions about bringing Santa Maria Supermarket to Janesville and more notice could have generally been offered the southside.
“It would have been nice to have had that heads up so we could have built that interest in the southside,” Miller said.
However, “anytime the southside can get necessities met, I’m on board,” Miller went on, adding that “I love that there is going to be a taqueria because new restaurants are good for the southside.”
Miller said the southside has been rallying for a grocery store for years and she is hopeful that there will be support for this project.
City Council member Larry Squire, meanwhile, said it’s a step in the right direction for the city and said he is excited to see what the future holds.
City Council member Paul Williams said foresees some issues at first with southside residents who will claim “prices are too high” or “they can get that at whatever store for cheaper” and he hopes Santa Maria Supermarket owners are prepared for that.
He said he hopes the southside supports it.
City Council president Dave Marshick said the news was great to hear, and a long time coming. While he said it’s unfortunate that the southside hasn’t been able to draw a larger grocery chain, a small family-operated grocery story is a step in the right direction, he said.
“The store is owned by an established family and I think they are going to bring something great to the southside,” Marshick said.
Businesses reaction
Chris Brose, who works at El-Ra Bowl, 1942 Center Ave., said Wednesday he had seen the city’s announcement but knew nothing more about the plans.
He said he would be supportive of most any city plan as long as “it benefited the south side.” If that was the case he said he would be “in favor of it 100%.”
Travis Kropf, owner of the Happy Piper, 2006 Center Ave., said he has lived on the southside for 13 years and has owned a southside business for 2 years. He said he and his wife currently get their groceries from Woodman’s on the city’s southside, and it often becomes full day of shopping because of the distance from their home.
He said any new retail, food or grocery locations on the southside are great but he’s hopeful that Santa Maria Supermarket will sell organic foods. That is important to his family, Kropf said.
He noted that chains and corporations don’t typically come to the southside so there tends to be a lot of “mom and pop” shops.
In his opinion, those do well. He said if Santa Maria Supermarket focuses on grocery essentials and has a strong ethnic food section, it will also do well and be a great community asset.