Workers could be seen on Friday putting packages of food on shelves in the first floor of the building on East LaSalle Avenue.
Many other shelves sit full of food and the building’s parking lot features a shopping cart return station as the space will soon see the opening of the grocery store the East Race Market.
The store is set to open on Thursday, according to local real estate developer Dave Matthews, who operates the complex on the east race in downtown.
“We’re really pleased with the relationships and the structure of the grocery store we’re opening in the east bank,” Matthews said. "It’s not a big box retailer, it’s a neighborhood grocer, but we have a great relationship with our wholesaler to have competitive pricing for national brands and an incredible private label program.”
Matthews’ company will manage the shop and he says it will feature all the items you would find in a typical grocery store, with many of the food selections coming from a Wisconsin-based private label.
The high-rise building features 125 upscale apartment units, but it’s been the grocery store, or lack thereof, which has put Matthews into a multi-year feud with South Bend officials.
The issue goes back to 2017 when the city’s redevelopment commission gave Matthews $5 million to help with construction costs to build out the apartments. Matthews received another $4.9 million from the Regional Development Authority.
As part of his contract with the city, Matthews committed to building the apartment units in addition to installing a grocery store and pharmacy in the building.
Matthews has said he was close to a deal with Martin’s at one point, but they were bought by another company and the deal went off the table.
The original time frame for the store and pharmacy passed and the commissions extended their deadlines, eventually to April of 2021 and then to Dec. 31 of 2022, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues.
“We’ve learned so much about opening a grocery store for the first time in the past three, four, five years, six years, seven years, who’s counting,” said Matthews.
In a late December move that garnered media attention, Matthews set up a series of makeshift tables and assorted boxes of food, saying the haphazard selection fulfilled the grocery store requirement.
At that point, with no store open, South Bend officials opted to go to court to try and settle the dispute. That lawsuit is still ongoing and a key question now is whether the city will drop the suit and consider Matthews’ obligation fulfilled once the store opens.
The city is seeking $7.5 million back from Matthews — the $5 million investment in addition to $2.5 million in damages
South Bend spokeswoman Allison Zeithhammer declined WVPe’s request for an interview with city officials, but in a statement, she said the following:
"Litigation is still ongoing for the failure to meet multiple commitments of the development agreement. As you know, the City expects a full-service grocery store, including a pharmacy, like a Martins Supermarket, as originally proposed by the developer. The City remains hopeful that the taxpayer's investment into this project will result in a downtown, full-service grocery and pharmacy to help our city continue to grow."
For his part, Matthews says he’s received no communication from the city for a while now. He also said he would have moved forward last year with the store if the city didn’t undertake a serious construction project that restricted traffic on LaSalle Avenue.
As the store opens, Matthews hopes it becomes a destination for residents of the east race neighborhood and for those leaving the city heading east on their commutes.
“If we can capture some of that spending from people who live just north of downtown, in the Wayne Street neighborhood, just south of Howard Park — I think we can do it,” Matthews said.
He anticipates the store being open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days and that at some point, he hopes to add the capability for residents of the center to have 24 hour access.
