New Grocery Store Planned

Plans are in the works to bring a new grocery store to north Tulsa. The store would replace the now abandoned Albertson's. City leaders tell The News On 6 a group of investors is looking to buy the

Monday, November 19th 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

Plans are in the works to bring a new grocery store to north Tulsa. The store would replace the now abandoned Albertson's. City leaders tell The News On 6 a group of investors is looking to buy the property at Pine and North Peoria. News On 6 anchor Scott Thompson reports the building has been empty since summer 2007 when Albertson's pulled out of Oklahoma, but now thereâ€™s word local developers have a new plan for the empty building.

Windows and doors are boarded up, the outline of what used to be a sign can barely be seen, while the current sign says 'available'. The North Peoria Albertsons is gone; company officials closed the store in June. With its departure went the only grocery store for hundreds of north Tulsa residents.

Elverz Allen owns a business in the same shopping center and lives nearby, he's felt the strain first hand, his wife does her grocery shopping in Owasso.

â€œThat's part of what I'm talking about. In that, for the groceries she wants and the products that she wants, she has to go outside the community to get those particular products,â€ north Tulsa resident and business owner Elverez Allen said.

Now Allen is optimistic the building may soon have a new owner. Councilmen Roscoe Turner and Jack Henderson have been working with a group of investors who are interested in opening a new grocery store.

â€œI heard word that it could possibly happen in the next week or two,â€ said Tulsa Councilman Roscoe Turner.

Councilman Turner declined to identify the investors, only saying it's several people from Tulsa who have pooled their money to bring north Tulsa its own place to shop for groceries.

Residents in the community say the past five years have been like a roller coaster. It started in 2002 when Albertson's began work on the store. That store opened in 2005, but it was not open long, the company decided to leave the Tulsa area in the summer of 2007. Now, another reason to be optimistic, Allen says, hoping this latest project brings more growth to north Tulsa.

â€œRestaurants, hotels, just about anything you need in a community you'd like to have it closer to home than having to drive all the way across town,â€ business owner Elverez Allen said.

One name being talked about for the store is Freedom Mart, but Councilman Turner says he is not sure where that name came from.

Watch the video: Investors Looking To Implement New Grocery Store

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6/20/2007 Albertsons Announces Plans To Sell 23 Oklahoma Stores

6/20/2007 North Tulsa Grocery Store Closing, Residents Upset