The future of ' The Market' in Tulsa's KingsPointe Village

It hasn't even gotten to its one-year anniversary, but already Tulsa's newest high-end grocery store is having problems. <br/><br/>Landlords are telling the owners of The Market to vacate, saying

Friday, January 14th 2005, 10:27 am

By: News On 6

It hasn't even gotten to its one-year anniversary, but already Tulsa's newest high-end grocery store is having problems.

Landlords are telling the owners of The Market to vacate, saying they're months behind on their rent. News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says the store is still open. Shoppers continue to shop. It's not clear how long they'll stay on the market.

Barely 10 months after it opened, The Market could have a short shelf life. Mike Joyce, KingsPointe Village attorney: "Because of our inability to work out the issues, we terminated their lease effective December 22nd. We notified them to vacate the premises on or before January the 10th and obviously that did not happen."

The Market was the crown jewel of KingsPointe Village Shopping Center when it opened in March. KingsPointe owner Terry King and her lawyer Mike Joyce say the store is behind on its rent and has violated other parts of the lease. King is baffled. Terry King: "Tulsa has taken very well to the store here. We believe sales have been very good, sales have been good for the entire center over the holidays and we're not really quite for sure what's going on."

The Market lawyer Robert Rhoads told the News on 6 by phone that the store is trying its best to work out a solution, that it was trying before the lawsuit was filed and that it is continuing to try. He wouldn't discuss the reasons for the store's problems. Shoppers like Pamela Kinnison hope they can salvage the deal. â€œI'm just really saddened, we don't have any other place like this in Tulsa and they have great food and great atmosphere." (And I just really love the place.)"

King is also hopeful a solution can be reached before the high-end store reaches "the" end. But she says she's already looking at other offers for the space.