A BLACK OWNED SUPERMARKET FOR THE SOUTHSIDE: MANY SUPPORT THE IDEA: OTHERS ARE SKEPTICAL: PLANNERS ARE DETERMINED AND OPTIMISTIC By Kofi Quaye “The community needs that supermarket, so we can shop where we live. We need to keep our dollars in the neighborhood,” he said. His name is Lawrence Davis and he is the owner of Eco Laundromat and Dry Cleaning on South Avenue. He has been in business for two years and says the prospects look good. “It won’t work. There’re not enough people to support a supermarket in this neighborhood” he said. Known to most people as Bob, he is the owner of J&B on Bellevue Ave. and says he has been in business for over thirty years. They are reacting to a meeting held at the Southwest Community Center on Nov 19, where it was announced that Jubilee Homes, a Southside based non profit organization had made progress with its plans to build a supermarket on South Avenue. “A supermarket on South Avenue will be good for the community, It will make it easier for older people in the community,” said Davis. “It used to be a supermarket thirty some years ago and closed. If it didn’t work back then, what make you think it will work now today when the economy is as bad as it is now?” asked Bob. According to Bob, the funds could be put to better use by building houses in the neighborhood. “Look around you. There are empty lots all over the place,” he said. To a number of community residents who attendee the meeting, the announcement was precisely what they wanted to hear; that the Southside would have its own supermarket. For the older generation, it revived memories of years ago when the main streets of South Avenue and South Salina were lined with businesses owned and operated by African Americans. Harold Carroll operates a business on Sterling Avenue off South Avenue. He has been in business for over forty years. “A supermarket will be good for this area, but it has to be managed well. So long as the prices are competitive, people will go there and shop and get what they need. They just have to run it right, “he said. Neighborhood residents point out that the majority of the locations that had housed African Americans in the past have either been abandoned or are now occupied by Arabs who have set up shop as corner or convenience stores Ali Muhammad attended the meeting at the Southwest side Community Center and supports the idea of a supermarket on the Southside. “The Southside right now does not have a full grocery store. The last one to pull out was P&C in the Valley Plaza and that has left us with nothing. We absolutely need a grocery store on the Southside” According to Ali Muhammad, the P&C grocery store at Valley Plaza made it convenient for him and others in the neighborhood that had no transportation of their own. It was within walking distance. When it went out of business, Ali Muhammad says he was seriously disappointed as well as frustrated. “With the P&C around, I didn’t have to wait on the bus or ask for a ride. Now I have to go all the way to Nedrow or Western Lights to do my grocery shopping. I’m not happy with the situation” he said. Eddie Shaw describes himself as an entrepreneur. A long standing resident of Syracuse, he has lived in various areas of the Southside. He knows the history of the building to be converted into a supermarket. It used to be a supermarket, he recalls. “It’s a great location. The only thing is they’ll have to do a lot to make people go there. They’ll have to do such things as offering some really great discounts. I’m all for a supermarket in the community.’ he said. He has been working hard on opening a mechanic shop on South Avenue and sees great potential in running a mechanic shop in the vicinity of a supermarket. A full grocery store in the area would be ideal for the business he intends to run, he said “For one, it will be a Black owned business and we need more of such businesses on this side of town. We also need competition, which right now, there is none. It can only help to have supermarket serving this community” Operating
a supermarket is complex and costly, noted Joe also of J&B. He estimates that
such a supermarket to be located in the building on the corner of South Avenue
and Bellevue would have to generate revenues of approximately $20, 000 a day to
be able to continue to operate. He doubts such a level of sales can be sustained
by a supermarket on the Southside. CNY VISION has learned that the grocery store is an important aspect of the project, but will be part of an operation that would provide a wide range of services based on the model now being used by ultra modern grocery stores. Services to be provided will include a credit card in the supermarket’s name. Already more than two hundred pledges have been received by community residents willing to become shopping card holders According to senior management of Jubilee, the decision to build the supermarket was preceded by research and market surveys focusing on identifying potential problems to be faced in that type of business. They were encouraged by the .outcome of the surveys and research which indicated that a supermarket is needed. Already in the business of building houses in depressed neighborhoods, they are optimistic about the future. “Over 3000 people have pledged to shop there when it opens,” said Walter Dixie of Jubilee Homes. He said the ultimate success of the supermarket will depend on people patronizing the supermarket and making use of the services it will offer. “We
will create 80-100 jobs for people in the community. There’s a lot of potential,”
he said. “I’m talking about the beauty salon, Bongo’s restaurant, Timbuktu Imports and Exports, and many other businesses in the area. We’ll need the support of the community that’s for sure” he said. |