New grocery store opening
Kent Street Market will open in the Confederation Court Mall in June
A new grocery store is going to set up shop in the Confederation Court Mall in Charlottetown.
Kent Street Market will be opening in June in the location currently occupied by an antique store and
will be run by Phil Homburg and his wife, Mila MacLean Homburg. He is the son of Richard Homburg, who runs the company.
MacLean Homburg told The Guardian on Tuesday they believe there is a market for a grocery store in the downtown core.
“There is no grocery store downtown. (It will be for) people want to pick up a few things on the way home, people are out running errands, tourists in town or staying in one of the hotels who want a little snack,’’ MacLean Homburg said.
The Confederation Court Mall is the perfect location because it’s centrally located, she said.
“We’re going to offer fundamentals of everything that you need on a day-to-day basis.’’
They’ll also be focusing on produce, primarily P.E.I. produce. The effort will be to supply as much local as is possible.
“There will be some things that we’ll have to get in as seasonal restrictions dictate but we’re going to try to keep everything pretty local (and) as Maritime-focused as we can.’’
They’re still in the process of locking down suppliers so MacLean Homburg wasn’t dropping names, but suffice to say they will be numerous.
“There are a lot of great suppliers on the Island and we want to start working with them to find out what is available and what they want to promote, and if there is anything they kind of want to try out in a small crop.’’
MacLean Homburg says the store will initially take in about 1,800 square feet, with the ability to grow to 3,000 square feet.
Grocery stores have come and gone in downtown Charlottetown, something MacLean Homburg is all too well aware off.
Still, she thinks they’ll succeed.
“It’s hard for me to speculate on why (they failed). I have heard from people who shopped that they had a low level of stock, for example, lot of empty shelves. It was a bit more of a sterile environment. (And) from what I understand, I don’t know how locally focused those products were. There is a specific demand for that and that’s kind of what we’re building around.’’
They’ll be partnering with Simple Feast Catering to provide customers with salads, soup and sandwich lunch options, as well as things to take home for supper, such as a hot chicken.
There will also be a limited supply of health and beauty items.
“We’re really excited about it, obviously, and we’re looking forward to hearing from people on what kind of options they want.’’