KANSAS CITY, Mo — A new grocery store is planning to open at Red Bridge Shopping Center, located at 11212 Holmes Road, in late spring or early summer.
The Red Bridge Farm Fresh Market will take over where the old Sun Fresh Market used to be. It will be refurbished by a Kansas City-based real estate agency, LANE 4 Property Group.
Jan Schmidt, who has been running a local gym in the shopping center since 2017, says she has seen lots of businesses come and go, including the Sun Fresh Market just a few yards down.
“Well they definitely were disappointed when they learned it was closing. I mean, it was a real handy place to run and grab a gallon of milk or pick up some ingredients for dinner,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt says it really was the lone grocery store in this area and without it, residents are having to travel several miles in any direction to find the next one. Although, she thinks it ultimately closed for a reason.
“I think the thing was, a lot of people were using it to pick up items to kind of fill in the gaps as opposed to using it for their major shopping trips,” said Schmidt.
The Red Bridge Farm Fresh Market will have a huge emphasis on local. In fact, the shopping center is home to over 80% locally-owned businesses already.
It also promises to bring more fresh produce like fruits, vegetables and meats at competitive prices.
“We’ve had significant drop since they closed,” said Shawn Gruber.
Gruber is the vice president of operations at Tanner’s Bar and Grill, located right next to the old Sun Fresh. He says it was one of the biggest reasons why they chose to open at that location.
“We liked using it as a resource for our business, but also bringing in the extra business to us, too, whether it’s Monday or weekends or whatever it may be,” said Gruber.
Both businesses say they are excited to welcome the new grocery store because if they are successful, that success will find them, too.
“Anything that would draw more traffic and more people into the shopping center is a win for everybody,” said Schmidt.
—
