Downtown grocery to open in October
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When Robin Fernandez opened the Metropol night club in the Strip District in 1988, people told him he was crazy, "that no one ever would dance around produce."
VWH Campbell, Post-GazetteAnn Fernandez, left, and Diane Flynn owner-operators of the new Vidalia Fine Food Market. The grocery store located in 100 Seventh Ave will open this fall.
Click photo for larger image.
Nearly two decades later, Mr. Fernandez, a self-described "risk taker," is gearing up for his latest challenge involving produce -- operating a grocery store Downtown.
Mr. Fernandez, owner of the Bossa Nova tapas and cocktail bar Downtown, plans to open Vidalia Fine Foods in the Encore on 7th apartment building in October. The name was chosen by his wife after she eyed Vidalia onions at a flea market.
The store will be the first Downtown grocery since Market on the Square, a meat and food market attached to the G.C. Murphy building, closed in late 1994.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who was on hand for yesterday's announcement, described the new store as "another brick in the foundation" of Downtown's redevelopment. He said a grocery store was always the "missing piece."
Vidalia Fine Foods will be Mr. Fernandez's first venture into the grocery business. He operated the Rosebud Deli in the former Dominion Tower building from 1994 until its closing in January.
He believes the time is ripe for a Downtown grocery, particularly with the surge in residential housing, from the nearly sold-out Encore apartment building to the numerous condo projects.
"This city is really ready to take off, and we want to be a part of it," Mr. Fernandez said. "I have every confidence in the future of the Downtown. Since we've been in the Cultural District now with Bossa Nova for six years, we have extreme confidence in the Cultural District and everything that's happening here."
A recent study conducted for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership found that there were 1,377 housing units in the Golden Triangle, with another 866 planned or under construction. There also were 1,998 beds for students, with another 375 planned.
The total grocery expenditure for Downtown households is estimated at $2.8 million a year, and is expected to triple by the end of the decade as more people move into the Golden Triangle.
To meet the needs of such residents, the new 3,100-square-foot grocery store will offer fresh produce, fresh and frozen seafood from Wholey's, prime cut meats and poultry, Boars Head deli meats and cheeses, baked goods and prepared foods. It also will sell flowers, magazines, pet food, coffee and other grocery items.
The store will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mr. Fernandez said it initially will offer deliveries inside the Encore high-rise, but eventually hopes to expand that to include other locations Downtown. He also hopes the deli will attract office workers during the day to round out the business.
Mr. Fernandez doesn't see himself in competition with larger grocers like Giant Eagle or Whole Foods. "I think there's definitely a niche in the market for us."
Nor does he think his store will compete much with the market planned for the old G.C. Murphy store in the redevelopment there.
Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Millcraft Industries, developer of the Murphy building, said the Vidalia store won't affect the firm's plans.
Rich Sofranko, an Encore resident, welcomed the grocery coming to the lobby of his apartment building. He now drives six miles or so to a grocery store to shop. He sees Vidalia Fine Foods as a "smaller version of what most neighborhoods have, which is exactly what we need."
First Published July 31, 2007 11:37 pm
