The heart of downtown Akron is poised to transform from a fresh foods desert to hosting three retail markets, and that prospect has sparked some jockeying for position before the first bills of sale ring up.
The mixed-use 159 Main complex has confirmed plans to open a grocery this summer, joining a “coming soon” lineup of food markets that includes Crafty Steere and The Mercantile. The newest entry has upset the apple cart for one of the previously announced arrivals; the Mercantile’s owners say they’re overhauling their offerings in light of the unexpected competition.
The 159 Grocery Market, as it is currently labeled, will sell essentials such as milk, ketchup, mustard, paper towels and toilet paper, said Gerilyn Gleason, CEO of Commercial Property Partners, which performs consulting and brokerage work for the building at 159 S. Main St.
“But there will be no alcohol, no tobacco, no lottery, nothing like that,” she said.
Gleason described the offerings as “those things that, when you’re in the middle of life, all of a sudden, you’re like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. We don’t have this?'”
Working with property owner Tom Rybak, Gleason’s firm plans to open the market within the next 45 days, she said June 17.
She said the plan for the market has been in the works for the past three years, along with apartments, a cafe and an event space – which have all opened – and other amenities. It replaces an entrepreneur’s market that was there previously.
The goal for the grocery market was previously to bring in a tenant to lease the space and run their own business, she said, but that changed.
“We have somebody here internally that has stepped up to run it,” Gleason said.
She said she isn’t sure whether property stakeholders will stay with the 159 Grocery Market name or go in a different direction.
Gleason said the impetus of the market was to provide grocery options for tenants but that the market will be open to the general public, as well.
The market space is roughly 800 to 1,000 square feet but could be expanded, she said.
Business owners setting up nearby markets respond
Crafty Steere, an artisanal food market, is opening up a new location on South Main Street, about of a tenth of a mile from 159 Main.
Owner Brian Steere said the plan is to sell specialty foods there, such as locally made meats and cheeses, the same as the business’s locations in Tallmadge and the Montrose shopping district of Copley Township.
But the business will sell those in just a roughly 1,500-square-foot section of its more than 20,000-square-foot, multi-level space, which will also include a bar, restaurant and meeting spaces. Crafty Steere will also have various games.
“We’re not trying to compete, I guess, on the competitive grocery market,” Steere said, adding that there could be some overlap among the products that Crafty Steere and 159 Main sell.
“I’m a proponent of the free enterprise system,” Steere said. “And ultimately, the market will decide, the consumers will decide, what they want to support.”
Steere said extensive work is needed to get the new Crafty Steere location set up in Akron’s O’Neil’s Building and that his team now plans to open it in mid-to-late July.
Shane Wynn and business partner Becca Gippin plan to open The Mercantile, a food and retail store, at 1 Cascade Plaza, kitty-corner from 159 Main across South Main and Bowery streets.
After posting concerns on social media about the 159 Main grocery market, Wynn said she and Gippin have to change their business model because downtown Akron can’t support two grocery stores across the street from each other.
She said commenters on social media “were being very kind in saying, ‘Well, you have a reputation here.’ And we do. We have a relationship with this city. But nobody that’s just coming off the street knows that. There’s two sides of the street, and they pick a side of the street.”
Wynn said she and Gippin toured space in 159 Main last year to possibly lease but ultimately decided on 1 Cascade Plaza, also known as PNC Center. The partners loved the floor-to-ceiling windows there, she said.
She said that since recently learning about grocery market plans at 159 Main, she and Gippin are now planning to “lean out of” grocery items they were planning to sell, such as milk, condiments, paper towels and toilet paper. She said they checked numbers June 17 and concluded they would only break even on grocery items, given the expected competition from 159 Main across the street.
“Why are we going to carry those things then?” she asked. “It makes it impossible.”
The Mercantile now plans to focus more on other products, such as drip coffee, flowers, grab-and-go meals and Akron-branded merchandise, Wynn said.
As far as The Mercantile’s timeline for opening, Wynn said she doesn’t know, adding, “We have been challenged with an SBA grant that is holding us back from opening, unfortunately.”
Wynn said she understands competition and capitalism but that “there’s just not enough capacity to support multiple things right across the street from each other.”
“Can we possibly have a plan done and then some ethics and think a little bigger than right in front of us?” Wynn said. “I think that if you examine successful cities, that’s going to be the difference, that’s what sets them apart. And if we choose to just sort of take each other out like this, it’s just really not for the betterment of the city.”
Gleason confirmed that she previously discussed a potential lease at 159 Main with The Mercantile owners.
In an email, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said The Mercantile and Crafty Steere “projects reflect the growing interest in investing in our urban core and creating amenities that serve downtown residents, workers, and visitors. We have not been involved in any grocery-related plans for the 159 Building but have reached out to the property owner to learn more.
“At the end of the day, our focus is on continuing to grow downtown Akron in a way that is sustainable and supports long-term success. Grocery access has been a priority for many years, and we want to see a thriving downtown with enough residents, workers, and activity to support the businesses that choose to invest here.”
Addressing Wynn’s concerns, Gleason said, “… we are not interested in creating any kind of animosity with anybody. I think that there’s a place for everybody down here.”
“We’re really just trying to help the building and help our tenants here. It’s something that they’ve asked us for,” Gleason said. “We don’t believe that we are in competition with anybody. This is really solely to support what we have going on here at 159.”
Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH. Sign up for the Beacon Journal’s business and consumer newsletter, “What’s The Deal?”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Third market now lining up to fill Downtown Akron’s fresh foods void
Reporting by Patrick Williams, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Patrick Williams, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
