- Heart Ministry Center used 425 survey responses and seven focus groups to shape plans for the new grocery store.
- The store will employ 30 to 40 local residents and will not sell tobacco, alcohol, or offer gaming.
- The 24,000-square-foot store near 24th and Lake is set to break ground Sept. 19.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A 24,000-square-foot full-service grocery store is planned for the North Omaha neighborhood near 25th and Lake, following a community survey and focus groups conducted by Heart Ministry Center earlier this summer.
Heart Ministry Center gathered 425 survey responses and held seven focus groups to shape plans for the store. The grocery store is about half the size of a typical supermarket, scaled to fit the neighborhood.
The store will employ 30 to 40 local residents, supporting one of the top priorities identified through community feedback.
Vicki Young, a North Omaha resident who was born and raised in the neighborhood, said she remembers shopping at the former Chubbs grocery store, which offered fresh food that reflected the community's needs and hours that worked for just about everyone.
"They were open on New Year's Day. They were open on Christmas. They were open on Thanksgiving. So if there was a main ingredient that you were missing or that you forgot about, you could run down the Chubbs. You knew that it was gonna be open," Young said.
Young said she is looking forward to the new store.
"I'm kind of excited about it, because it's bringing something new," Young said.
City representative LaVonya Goodwin said the new grocery store is an important step toward addressing the food desert in North Omaha.
"You live west of 72nd Street. I always say this, spin around, and you've got your options for amenities. That's not necessarily the case in neighborhoods like 24th and Lake," Goodwin said.
While many details are still being finalized, organizers say the grocery store will not sell tobacco, alcohol, or offer gaming. Young, who described herself as a tobacco prevention advocate, said she is especially pleased with that decision.
"I'm excited about it because I'm a tobacco prevention advocate. Okay. And so we work very hard to make our state smoke free," Young said.
A groundbreaking is scheduled for Sept. 19.
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