Sendik’s to open small grocery store near Marquette campus

Focus is single meals, snacks, produce

Sendik’s Food Markets will open a small-format store near Marquette University, the company announced Wednesday.

The grocery store, in an apartment and retail development at the northeast corner of W. Wells St. and N. 16th St., will be similar to the Fresh2Go stores operated by Sendik’s. Its entrance will be on N. 16th St.

The 4,800-square-foot store will feature healthy snacks, single-serve meals and Sendik’s signature fresh produce, according to a company statement. The Marquette location will include Sendik’s Express, the Milwaukee-based company’s online ordering and curbside pick-up service.

The store will open during the 2017-’18 academic year.

Sendik’s expects the store have about 20 employees, including Marquette students.

“From my earliest days as president at Marquette, I told our students and our partners in the Near West Side that bringing a top-quality grocer to our community was the highest priority,” Michael Lovell, Marquette president, said in a statement.

“With more than 90 years of outstanding experience serving Milwaukee, Sendik’s arrival in our neighborhood means that our current food desert will soon have a fresh food oasis,” Lovell said.

“This exciting collaboration is about two longtime Milwaukee institutions that share a combined vision of innovation and growth, both of which are reflected in this unique store and partnership,” said Ted Balistreri, family co-owner of Sendik’s Food Market.

The new grocery also will serve neighborhood residents, said Keith Stanley, executive director of Near West Side Partners Inc., a nonprofit neighborhood improvement group.

“Our residents have been clamoring for fresh food options for years,” Stanley said. “In an era where fast food is king, fresh food is the key in helping our neighbors thrive.”

Sendik’s operates 18 stores throughout the Milwaukee area. That count includes 15 supermarkets and three Fresh2Go small-format groceries.

The newest stores opened this spring at 20222 Lower Union St., Town of Brookfield, in The Corners mixed-use development, and at 701 Meadowbrook Road, Waukesha. However, Sendik’s dropped plans to open a Muskego store.

Also, Sendik’s will continue to look at a possible downtown Milwaukee location, said Nick Bandoch, company spokesman.