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Could Constantino's Market headed to Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood? Local officials certainly hope so. The nonprofit Tremont West Development Corp. just won a $742,000 federal grant to eliminate a 'food desert' and open a grocery store inside an empty mansion at West 14th Street and Fairfield Avenue.
(courtesy Andrew Revy, Constantino's Market)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood has received a $742,000 federal grant that city officials hope will help bring a Constantino's Market into an empty mansion at West 14th Street and Fairfield Avenue.
The nonprofit Tremont West Development Corp. plans to use the money to convert the structure into a full-service Constantino's, the family-owned retailer's fifth store.
"We are extremely glad to hear about the grant award, and are looking at making the project a success. It's a win for TWDC, the neighborhood of Tremont, and for the city of Cleveland," said Andrew Revy, chief operating officer of the Constantino's and son-in-law of owner Constantine "Costas" Mavromichalis, via email.
"Additional sources of funds are being finalized. A project of this type needs multiple sources of funds and numerous partnerships all working towards the same goal: bring a grocery store to a neighborhood in the city of Cleveland that needs it," he added.
The project is expected to employ 30 full-time workers for jobs including store manager, kitchen manager, cashiers, stock associates, cooks, deli manager, deli associates, grocery manager.
Constantino's, founded in 2005 by Mavromichalis, has two neighborhood grocery stores in Downtown Cleveland and in University Circle's Uptown neighborhood, and operates a Convenient Food Mart on Cleveland's West Side.
Mavromichalis' family just opened a fourth store in the College Town district in Rochester, New York, near Strong Memorial Hospital and the University of Rochester, on April 9.
Constantino's received similar federal grants toward opening the Uptown Cleveland store and the store in Rochester, Revy said.
Tremont West Executive Director Cory Riordan said the plan is to open the $2.5 million store within two years. "There are still a lot of design and planning elements to take place for this entire project to come together," Revy said. "The University Circle store took nearly five years of discussions, meetings, design, planning, constructions, etc., before finally opening."
"I would anticipate a late 2016 or early 2017 opening for Tremont."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the grant as part of larger efforts to plant grocery stores in "poor urban areas that have little or no access to freshly grown produce," the statement said.
Low-income families in federally-defined "food deserts" are forced to rely on corner convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, which may not be very affordable, fresh or nutritious. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 2.35 million residents nationwide live in such "food deserts."
The Lincoln Park farmers' market in Tremont, open once a week from April through September, has the highest sales in food stamps among farmers' markets in the region, according to Tremont West.
"The market that is being planned for Tremont would be a full-sized neighborhood grocery store with all the amenities people are accustomed to from Constantino's Market," Revy said. "With the freshest fruits and vegetables, choice-cut meats, premier bakery, daily deli and chef-prepared foods, amazing selections of wine and beer, all your essentials, and over 100 locally sourced items. All hand picked especially for your neighborhood."
Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman, who represents the Tremont neighborhood, said in the same statement that: "This project will provide fresh fruit and vegetables to hundreds of needy people unable to get to [other] grocery stores."
"Tremont is and always will be a neighborhood of tremendous diversity," he added via email. "With some of the newest market-rate houses and the largest free meal program in the city at St. Augustine Church, it is a place that embraces everyone."
"To have this grocery store in some of our most historic structures will be a real stride toward food security for everyone. It's a great example of what makes Tremont so strong: Collaboration, care for one another, commitment to the best. With some of the best restaurants in the city and the farmer's market with the highest use of food stamps, this store is at the intersection of Tremont's need and Tremont's realizing opportunities," Cimperman said. "I'm so proud of Tremont West for going after this grant and getting it."