We are expecting to get more details Friday morning about a grocery store coming to downtown Rochester. It is slated for the East End, and it will be called " Hart's Local Grocers."
It has been a while since there has been a supermarket downtown.. In fact the last one was the store that was owned by Wegmans, and then other retailers at Midtown Plaza more than a decade ago.
But Rochester's Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development, Del Smith, says there is someone locally who wants to put in a store at a former auto repair shop...where Craig Autometrics had been located on Winthrop Street, off East Avenue, before it closed last month.
Smith says Rochester really needs a grocery store with the availability of healthier options for residents, and he says the city may be able to provide the new store with some help.
"We've been asked to see if there's some support that the city can provide to help this particular store be successful, and from what I've been able to see, I think it hits on many of the key areas in terms of what a store like this needs to have and needs to offer to the community. "
Smith says it's possible Rochester could provide tax incentives, loans, or other help to the new store. He also thinks there is room for other grocery stores as well. The CEO of Tops markets said recently that chain may eventually consider a store for downtown Rochester as well.
