New Southside Grocery Market

Monroe Southside residents have to be elated after hearing that the Monroe City Council approved the sale of land within city limits for the construction of a grocery market on Jackson Street. The sale of land located at 3901 Jackson Street will be a welcome addition to an area of the city that has hardly seen any economic development near them. District 5 councilwoman and president Kema Dawson said she is very excited about this project, as it will be in her district. It will be a new Dollar General Market that will have the same kind of groceries one finds at supermarkets and will also have fresh food and produce. A representative for HP Investments, LLC said that the first prototype was only 10,000 sq. ft., but fresh food and produce weren’t included. A new 12,000 sq. ft. market prototype was designed so that the market would sell fresh food and produce, making the market bigger. He said the investors considered whether to add fresh food and produce over vehicular traffic concerns, but he said the amount of foot traffic convinced him that a market was feasible. One can measure the number of vehicles, but it “is impossible” to measure foot traffic. The representative said that when he was at the proposed site, there were always people walking by asking questions about the proposed project.

Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis said that he appreciated the tenacity to move on the project when the administration expressed the need that the residents would like to see fresh produce, but also the question of whether there would be another grocery store in south Monroe. Ellis said that he appreciated the fact that the developers are coming in to make that a reality. There is only one supermarket on the south side that offers regular groceries and fresh food and produce, which is on Winnsboro Road. From Jackson Street, going east to Hwy 165 and I-20 to Richwood, one would be hard-pressed to believe that there is only one supermarket in the whole area. Southside residents have had to drive across the city to the north side for their grocery needs. Perhaps with the new market coming into play, other developers may take another look at south Monroe and realize that the potential is there for growth. Markets bring people together, as the one on Winnsboro Road has heavy vehicle and foot traffic on a daily basis. Residents in Richwood and surrounding areas such as Robinson Place will benefit, as well as the entire southside of Monroe. Dollar General and the developers are showing other developers that the need is there, as the southside is untapped territory.