Downtown Cleveland Extends Food Access Through October, Launches Study to Replace 1 Closing Grocer
Updated
Updated · NEOtrans · Jul 10
Downtown Cleveland Extends Food Access Through October, Launches Study to Replace 1 Closing Grocer
2 articles · Updated · NEOtrans · Jul 10
Summary
Downtown Cleveland Inc. will extend weekday food-truck programming and its Public Square Farmers Market through October as Heinen’s at 900 Euclid Ave. prepares to close at month-end after 11 years.
Streetsense, a retail and urban-grocery consultant, has been hired to run an expedited market analysis on what kind of grocer downtown can support and where a new store should go.
The push is aimed at serving 21,000 downtown residents plus tens of thousands of workers and visitors who rely on walkable food access; the farmers market will remain SNAP/EBT eligible.
Mayor Justin Bibb and County Executive Chris Ronayne are backing outreach to public, private and community partners after the city provided Heinen’s more than $250,000 in incentives since 2022.
Officials say the replacement effort will focus on an operator suited to urban shopping habits, after criticism that Heinen’s suburban-style model did not adapt to downtown demand.