Within 45 days, 159 Main plans to open a public grocery market in downtown Akron, adding an 800- to 1,000-square-foot store focused on basics such as milk, condiments, paper towels and toilet paper.
Gerilyn Gleason said the project, in development for three years, shifted from seeking an outside tenant to using an internal operator, with the market aimed first at building tenants but open to the wider public.
The new entrant reshaped nearby plans: The Mercantile, set for 1 Cascade Plaza across the street, said it will cut back on staple groceries and pivot toward coffee, flowers, grab-and-go meals and Akron merchandise.
Crafty Steere, opening about a tenth of a mile away in mid-to-late July, said its model is different, with specialty foods occupying roughly 1,500 square feet inside a 20,000-square-foot venue with a bar and restaurant.
The opening would turn downtown Akron from a fresh-foods desert into a three-market district, a test of whether rising resident and worker demand can sustain multiple food retailers in the urban core.