A grocery chain with an international bent founded nine years ago may have its eye on replacing Shop ’n Save in the Hill District.
Fresh International Market is believed to be one of the two groceries that submitted a proposal to the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority to operate a store in the Hill, the Post-Gazette has learned.
The chain operates stores in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana and has others in the works in Raleigh, N.C., and St. Louis.
On its website, Fresh International Market bills itself as an “authentic Asian grocery for the most passionate food explorer.”
But in an interview in March with City Pulse in East Lansing, Mich., Bowen Kou, FIM founder, said the chain was branching out to carry food from around the world.
According to the website, Fresh International Market got its start in 2012 in Lansing, Mich.
“Bowen and his team are a bunch of dedicated guys who wish to bring [a] vibrant lifestyle and the BEST authentic flavor to their community,” the website says.
The goal, it added, “is simple: Be the best destination for global flavors in town without VISA!”
David Serbin, the URA’s director of development services, said Wednesday that the authority has proposals before it from two grocers with an interest in the former Shop ’n Save in Centre Heldman Plaza in the Hill.
One wanted all 30,410 square feet of space and the other part of it, he said. Mr. Serbin would not identify either of them, but described both as national in scope. He had no comment Thursday when asked whether Fresh International Market submitted a proposal.
The grocer is believed to be interested in all of the space.
Based on its website, Fresh International Market appears to be a full service grocer with a strong mix of Asian brands.
Offerings include fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meat and seafood, dairy products, frozen and prepared foods, bakery items, and health and beauty products.
“I am very familiar with this operation and it would be a tremendous coup for them to locate in Pittsburgh and most certainly would be a destination store for the whole entire city,” said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of commercial real estate firm CBRE who specializes in retail.
“They run a first-class operation that caters to a multinational audience.”
Neither Mr. Kou nor other Fresh International Market representatives could be reached for comment.
In addition to East Lansing, Fresh International Market operates stores in Schaumburg, Ill.; Champaign, Ill.; and West Lafayette, Ind.
The URA has been searching for a grocer to fill the space since Shop ’n Save closed in March 2019 after opening in 2013. Before the Shop ’n Save debuted, the Hill had been without a grocery for three decades.
Mr. Serbin said Wednesday the authority hoped to be able to announce a deal with a new grocer within a few months.
The URA is seeking a $1 million state grant to divide the store into separate spaces -- one for a grocer and one for “community and entrepreneurial programming.”
Mr. Serbin stressed, however, that the authority’s preference would be to use the entire space for a grocery. But it also believes a smaller footprint could help to attract more interest from some operators.
One national chain the URA has reached out to in the past is Aldi, although Mr. Serbin wouldn’t say whether it submitted a proposal. The chain typically operates out of spaces of 14,000 to 15,000 square feet, about half the size of the Hill Shop ’n Save.
The URA acquired the 2.57-acre Centre Heldman Plaza for $1.6 million in 2019. It did so after the Hill House Association decided to dissolve and sell off its real estate holdings, with the plaza being the largest one.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published: June 4, 2021, 9:24 a.m.
