REDEVELOPMENT:

Grocery store finds popularity where for years no other tried

Monday, July 13, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Buy Low Market

Long-sought supermarket to make life in West Las Vegas a bit better (6-10-2008)
West LV residents rally for grocery store (7-8-2005)

Buy Low Market

It took years for Las Vegas officials to find a grocery store willing to do business in the downtrodden neighborhood that was once the thriving center of the area’s black community.

And by the time the Buy Low Market opened in September at the corner of Owens Avenue and H Street — replacing a Vons that closed in 2004 — the region was sliding into recession.

Yet by all accounts, the store appears to be integrating itself successfully into the neighborhood and making strides toward profitability. After operating in the red for its first nine months, the store broke even last month for the first time, according to company officials.

Strictly on word of mouth, the store is averaging 1,500 customers a day – 25 percent more than projected, according to the store’s management.

“Everything is going better than we had hoped,” said Buy Low’s executive vice president, Nader Vazin. “We are happy.”

That’s good news for city officials, led by Ward 5 Councilman Ricki Barlow and the city’s Redevelopment Agency, which committed up to $950,000 in grants for the store’s first seven years to help ensure the market remains viable. The funds include up to $200,000 for equipment purchases and up to $100,000 per year in store improvement and remodeling rebates.

Barlow said several constituents have told him how important it is that they no longer have to travel for miles to buy groceries. This is especially the case for seniors and others who rely on public transportation, he said.

“The community overall is very happy and pleased with the grocery store,” Barlow said. “Buy Low was able to come in and turn the lights back on, and really jump-start that entire area again.”

The Buy Low Market chain has five stores, including three in the Los Angeles area and one in Provo, Utah. Buy Low is one of the brands operated by K.V. Mart Co.

The stores specialize in serving inner-city residents. According to the company’s Web site , the markets “cater to the tastes of the ethnic communities surrounding each store.”

The wide variety of products at the Las Vegas store – from a large bin of uncooked pinto beans to roasted whole chickens to various dried peppers – seems to reflect the store’s broad customer base.

On a recent Thursday morning, the market was humming with a melting pot mix of Hispanic, black, white and Asian customers, some of whom said they were grateful that the store was lured to their community.

“I see a lot of people here, they have no transportation,” said Gloria Powell, who lives near the store. “This is a very good thing for everybody.”

Another shopper, Chuck Davis, said although he’s now glad he doesn’t have to drive five miles to buy groceries, that’s not the main reason he likes the Buy Low. It’s the selection and the prices that appeal to him.

Indeed, the food prices – especially for some produce and meat items — are so low that it seems doubtful the store is profiting from their sale. For example, Granny Smith apples were on special for four pounds for a dollar. A produce manager said the usual selling price is two pounds for $1.29.

At a grocery store a few miles away Granny Smiths were selling for $1.49 per pound.

The bargain-basement prices are intentional, said Vazin. The store’s strategy is to sell most items under or at cost for the first year to build a loyal customer base, he said.

The strategy resulted in significant early losses for the store – including a first-month loss of about $200,000. That figure doesn’t include the expense of getting the store up and running, including $200,000 for new refrigeration units.

Vazin and the store’s director, Alfredo Alvarado, said they plan further improvements to the store, some of which will be paid for, at least in part, by city redevelopment funding. Most immediately, they said, they plan a $400,000 upgrade to the meat department, which will create jobs, said Alvarado.

The store has 120 employees, about 95 of whom are full-time workers, he said. Many are from the neighborhood.

These kind of investments, Alvarado said, signal that the store’s owners are dedicated to Las Vegas for the long haul.

“I get a lot of positive vibes,” Alvarado said. “All I see is commitment to the store’s success.”

Discussion: 14 comments so far…

By digger

7/13/09 at 9:51 a.m.

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Ricki Barlow's success in attracting this grocery store will go a long way in improving the community's health. Now there are choices besides fast food and convenience store items.
By justjoe

7/13/09 at 9:52 a.m.

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It is not only the Westside which has lost a large grocery store to walk to. Vons left the people at Russell and Pecos without a grocery for a couple miles and Vons is leaving Whitney Ranch area without a grocery, this area has at least 6 large apartment complexes and well over 500 houses; the walk there is almost 2 miles to the next large grocery.
By davidwayneosedach

7/13/09 at 12:09 p.m.

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This kind of sales philosphy would make this store a success even in higher income neighborhoods.
By stevem

7/14/09 at 5:03 a.m.

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this place will be closed this time next year.

they will have so much shoplifting and "slip and fall" lawsuits they'll have to close.
By Phargo

7/14/09 at 11:13 a.m.

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STEVEM... you are correct!.. we have seen this happen so many times in the past in many other "blighted" areas. The "downtrodden" are incapable of resisting the urge to lie, cheat , and steal. The grocery companies find it cheaper to move out rather than prosecute the offenders because nobody wants to put another "minority" person in jail.
By slots

7/14/09 at 2:42 p.m.

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"..the city's Redevelopment Agency, which committed up to $950,000 in grants for the store's first seven years.."

This is a business plan?
By stevem

7/14/09 at 4:59 p.m.

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about 10 years ago my hometown of st. louis was going through a lot of urban renewal in the downtown area.

they took a lot of old buildings and made them into $300,000 lofts ( remember...these were 1999 prices, BEFORE the peak of the bubble ), a lot of nightclubs came in, neat little clothing boutiques, and some major grocery stores came to a part of town that pretty much only had those little "quick marts".

well, sure enough, in about 3 years all those new, clean, grocery stores were closed.

not because they weren't getting customers. the loft dwellers gave them a lot of business, but vandalism, graffiti, shoplifting, stolen grocery carts, and slip and fall / racism suits from the urchins that also lived in that area made them unprofitable and now they are all closed.

now you have people that live and work downtown, but have to drive 10 miles to a grocery store...and that's in a semi-good area.

there's a REASON the big chains stay away from inner city / depressed areas.
By Unk

7/14/09 at 5:26 p.m.

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Money well spent!

a new City Hall at $300 Million is highway robbery, as is the F Street fiasco at probably $25 million.

950K to backstop a vital service is peanuts by comparison.
By tylerzambori

7/14/09 at 6:55 p.m.

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dear Stevem,

Your racism is really showing. What about all the lying and cheating that goes on, on ebay, by the middle and upper middle class? I know this from lots of personal experience. These are the same lovely people who shop at these expensive grocery stores in "white" neighborhoods.

So apparently the middle and upper middle classes are also uanble to resist the urge to lie, cheat and steal either.

So it sounds like you are either proposing that gorcery stores be segregated, or that we simply keep people living in such areas from having any grocery stores at all. The latter would simply be ridiculous, so I think what you really want is segregated grocery stores. If they would only bring that back, then the yuppies can have their boutique groceries, and the poor people of unknown ethnicity can have their cheap and grungy stores. That's what you really want, isn't it?
By geenab65

7/14/09 at 8:23 p.m.

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Tyler, you're an astute observer and I applaud you for saying what you say.
By geenab65

7/14/09 at 8:25 p.m.

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Unfortunately, it's not racism, it's ignorance. Always remember and never, ever forget: You can teach an old dog new tricks, but you can't teach a dumb dog nothin".
By stevem

7/14/09 at 10 p.m.

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haha!

my racism?

haha!

did i SAY one single raCIST thing?

liberals are funny.

now, if i would have said "black people" are violent and steal things and that makes stores close...now THAT would be slightly racist.

i was talking about grocery stores ( a specific type of business ) in downtown st. louis ( a specific location ).

look, the truth hurts. instead of the black community DEALING with their problems, they claim "racism" and do nothing.

the jesse jacksons and al sharptons of the world almost blackmail businesses into opening in black areas, then the black community acts like a bunch of idiots and the stores close.
By tylerzambori

7/14/09 at 11:06 p.m.

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@geenab65: It's both ignorance and racism.

@stevem: Well, let's see: You complain about the poor who steal, cheat, and lie. In the same sentence in which you mention "Slip and Fall" lawsuits, you also mention supposed racism lawsuits. You are basically lumping them together, by putting that "/" in there. That means you think the people doing this lying, cheating, and stealing are minorities. Think it through, if you can. That means every
comment you made about the poor, is really about minorities.

Next, I am as white as can be, and your blaming tone indicates to me that you are simply in denial.
Your boorish comments would be better suited for alt.skinheads on google groups, rather than a respectable publication like the Las Vegas Sun. Please take yourself off in that direction, thank you1
By geenab65

7/15/09 at 9:03 p.m.

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"look, the truth hurts. instead of the black community DEALING with their problems, they claim "racism" and do nothing".

Tyler Honey, don't bother, because again, you can teach an old dog new tricks, but you can't teach a dumb dog nothin".