CONNEAUT — A citizens committee working behind the scenes to attract a supermarket to a Conneaut shopping center expects to find a tenant within a few months.
Ralph Hawkins of Conneaut, spokesman for the committee, said a store for the Gateway Plaza Shopping Center could be lined up this fall. “We would like someone in by the first of November,” he said.
The committee, comprised of a half-dozen professional people from the community, has been working many months to find a replacement for the Giant Eagle supermarket that closed in 2005, Hawkins said.
Three regional supermarket chains have expressed interest in the Conneaut location near Interstate 90, Hawkins said. Two of the companies, however, can’t make a move for a few months, he said.
“(The third) could come in more quickly,” he said.
Special incentive packages — approved by the owner, Kenneth Gerston of Sherman Oaks, Calif. — are being prepared to help seal a deal, Hawkins said. Hawkins declined to identify the interested businesses.
A separate arrangement with a oil company may see a fueling station become part of the project, he said.
The committee formed more than a year ago and has been quietly helping Gerston and others find a store, Hawkins said. “The city is working with us,” he said.
The group had convinced a Youngstown-based chain to set up shop in Conneaut several months ago, but the business changed its mind, Hawkins said.
A half-dozen local people, all professionals, sit on the committee, Hawkins said. He declined to identify the members, except to say “there are no politicians on the committee and we’re working on something good for the community.”
“We’ve been working our tails off,” he said.
Hawkins said he was motivated to help after watching a young mother checking out groceries at an area store burst into tears when she didn’t have enough money for her purchase. “That really stuck with me,” he said.
Giant Eagle had operated in Conneaut for 18 years when it shut down in September 2005. The independently owned store was not making sufficient profit, officials said. Some 60 full- and part-time employees lost their jobs.
Since then, city leaders have attempted to locate a replacement store, while Gerston hired the services of a Cleveland real estate firm to help market the property.
Another vacancy will pop up soon in the Gateway Plaza — the CVS Pharmacy store next to the vacant store will relocate to a new building in downtown Conneaut. The prospective supermarket has the option to expand into the CVS if it likes, Hawkins said.
Committee members are very confident a new store will be arriving soon. “We’re going to have one in there,” he said.
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