Grocers may be on way

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Dec. 29, 2005 | 8:08 a.m.

After 16 months without a neighborhood supermarket, West Las Vegas is apparently on its way to having one and possibly two new grocery stores.

Even one new supermarket isn't a done deal at this point, but there are now two groups working to bring a major grocer into their projects.

John Edmond, whose Edmond Town Center at H Street and Owens Avenue is expected to open in the spring, said he expects the old Vons building at his center to be home to a supermarket before the end of 2006. The area has been without a supermarket since that Vons closed in August 2004.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas last week entered into an agreement with development company DLC UrbanCore to bring a supermarket and other retail shops to 10 acres of city-owned land near Lake Mead and Martin Luther King boulevards. Company co-founder G. Lamont Blackstone said he is already in discussions with two major supermarkets regarding the property.

"There's a good chance we could get two stores," city Business Development Director Scott Adams said. "A likely scenario is that we end up with a supermarket at the Lake Mead and MLK site, and I suspect in the Vons space we'll see either a much smaller discount or an independent grocer."

Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly, whose ward includes West Las Vegas, said he'll be happy with just one supermarket.

"As long as we get a full-service grocery store, I'll be OK. If we get two, then we're doubly blessed," Weekly said.

Since Vons closed, some area residents have been depending on public transportation, taxis, friends or family to get to the supermarket -- making the regular chore time-consuming.

Weekly said he was excited by the apparent progress toward "filling the void" that has existed since Vons left.

Will Ward, executive director of the local chapter of community-oriented nonprofit group ACORN, was equally looking forward to the area's need being met.

Since summer, ACORN has organized two rallies to bring attention to the issue. In July the group called for the city to make the 10 acres at Lake Mead available for development of a supermarket.

Weekly said that although he and ACORN representatives might have had their differences, "at the end of the day we're all fighting for what's best for the community."

Blackstone would not say which supermarkets he's speaking with, nor would he give a timeline for when a grocery store could come to the site.

Adams said if all goes smoothly, there could be a supermarket at Lake Mead and King in two years. A new grocery store in the old Vons building could come much sooner, possibly in six months.

Blackstone said he's confident the Lake Mead site would be successful because of its location. Both streets are major thoroughfares and easily accessible.

Blackstone also was not concerned about the potential competition from the old Vons site, "given how underserved the market is."

Edmond, who said the town center development of retail shops and restaurants could open in March, said Vons representatives have told him they are speaking with two major chains. One is Detroit-based FoodMart, and he did not know the name of the other.

Another company, Save-A-Lot, has also expressed an interest in the old Vons, but Edmond and Weekly said that company apparently wouldn't occupy the entire building and so Vons is not interested in a deal with it.

Vons representatives did not return telephone messages seeking comment, but Edmond said, "They are very confident there will be a supermarket there in the coming year, 2006."

"I couldn't say that two months ago."

Dan Kulin can be reached at 259-8826 or at dan@lasvegassun.com.