Grocery possible on near south side
Store to take part of former Pick ’n Save
A new supermarket is planned for the Clarke Square neighborhood on Milwaukee’s near south side.
The store would use the southern half of a 112,000square-foot building, 1818 W. National Ave., that was previously anchored by a Pick ’n Save supermarket. That store closed in August.
The new grocery store would be a tenant in that building, which is being sold to a group that includes real estate developer Michael DeMichele. Its main tenant will be Wantable Inc., an e-commerce company that in December announced plans to move its headquarters there from 112 E. Mineral St., in Walker’s Point.
“We are very close with a lease with a grocery,” DeMichele said during a Plan Commission hearing Monday on the project. He declined to identify the operator, other than to say it’s a local company.
One source said the grocery store would be owned by El Rey, which has four stores on Milwaukee’s south side. An El Rey owner couldn’t be reached for more information.
The Plan Commission unanimously approved a proposal to renovate the building to accommodate the supermarket and Wantable’s operations. The building also has a child care center that will continue to operate.
Wantable, which has around 80 employees, plans to move to the building in March, President Jalem Getz told commission members. He said the building could eventually house around 350 to 400 employees.
The move will roughly double Wantable’s space and bring a growing, internet-based company to one of Milwaukee’s poorer neighborhoods.
Wantable is a subscriptionbox retailer, offering women packages of makeup, accessories and other items monthly.