The Grove Corner Market, a small but well-stocked grocery that's been in Asheville's Grove Arcade since 2003, plans to leave the downtown location and set up shop in the West Asheville space soon to be vacated by the Haywood Road Market, which closed recently.
"We'll be out [of the Grove Arcade] by the end of the month; we don't know exactly when," says co-owner Ron Ainspan. Sometime in June, the store will reopen (with a new name) in West Asheville's Bledsoe Building.
Financial pressures, he says, forced the grocery to shut down its Grove Arcade operation. "We've been struggling to make ends meet over here, and we got behind a bit in rent over the winter, and we weren't able to come to an agreement over getting current" with the Grove Arcade ownership.
The new store will resemble the Grove Corner Market in some but not all respects. "It will change," Ainspan reports. "I think that we want to be a combination grocery and deli, offering things like specialty cheeses and wine and beer. We'll definitely do a much larger natural-foods selection, with lots of produce."
Ainspan and business partner Rosanne Kiely are still interested in downtown Asheville, however. "We haven't given up on the idea of reopening in a location elsewhere downtown," he notes. "If the right opportunity came along, we'd certainly look into it."
Meanwhile, the West Asheville store is looking for a name. "We are taking suggestions," says Ainspan. "If anyone has got a good idea for a name, we'll entertain it."
On the move: Grove Corner Market staffers (from left) Adam Edwards, Ali Ellis and Rosanne Kiely pose at their downtown location. At the end of the month, they'll move the business to West Asheville's Bledsoe Building and give it a new name. Photo by Jonathan Welch
"We'll be out [of the Grove Arcade] by the end of the month; we don't know exactly when," says co-owner Ron Ainspan. Sometime in June, the store will reopen (with a new name) in West Asheville's Bledsoe Building.
Financial pressures, he says, forced the grocery to shut down its Grove Arcade operation. "We've been struggling to make ends meet over here, and we got behind a bit in rent over the winter, and we weren't able to come to an agreement over getting current" with the Grove Arcade ownership.
The new store will resemble the Grove Corner Market in some but not all respects. "It will change," Ainspan reports. "I think that we want to be a combination grocery and deli, offering things like specialty cheeses and wine and beer. We'll definitely do a much larger natural-foods selection, with lots of produce."
Ainspan and business partner Rosanne Kiely are still interested in downtown Asheville, however. "We haven't given up on the idea of reopening in a location elsewhere downtown," he notes. "If the right opportunity came along, we'd certainly look into it."
Meanwhile, the West Asheville store is looking for a name. "We are taking suggestions," says Ainspan. "If anyone has got a good idea for a name, we'll entertain it."
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why not the "West Corner Market"? keeps yer name with the relocation. i can't wait for yer deli in the west here.
By Joey MacBastard
05/13/2009
It seems like all this new housing was built downtown, yet there still aren't enough people actually living downtown (say, south of Woodfin and north of, let's say Buxton (to include the Lexington Station development) to support the Grove Corner Market. Does anybody know how many of the "downtown condo" properties are occupied by people who actually live here year-round?
By ironhead
05/17/2009