Third Lucky’s Market In Region May Open In Downtown West In 2017

The grocery market in St. Louis is constantly changing —  yesterday the long-awaited Whole Foods at Euclid & Pine opened in a new mixed-use building, the Orion apartments are upstairs.

The grocery market in the St. Louis region is one of my areas of interest — the combination of retailing & food is irresistible to me. Here are some of my past posts on the subject:

• 8/2009: Larger Downtown Grocery Store Opens Today
• 11/2013: New Grocery Store Located Among Walkable Neighborhoods Not Designed For Pedestrian Customers/Employees
• 11/2014: Ever Changing Grocery Market
• 2/2015: I’d Love An Eataly St. Louis
• 8/2015: Second Lucky’s Market Now Open In St. Louis Region

Now it looks like a new grocery store might open in the building behind mine.

Lucky’s Market, a specialty grocer based in Boulder, Colo., is considering a store on the first floor of the Ely Walker building in downtown St. Louis, sources say.

Saggar Holdings LLC recently acquired the space at 1520 Washington Avenue from SA Group Properties Inc.

Sources say Lucky’s would occupy about 20,000 square feet of space formerly occupied by the London Tea Room and the English Living furniture store. (Post-Dispatch)

I say might because a lease hasn’t yet been signed. As soon as I saw this article last week I looked up Saggar Holdings LLC and my instinct was correct — Downtown Urgent Care’s Dr. Sonny Saggar puts his money where his mouth is — buying space and helping bring a new retailer to the city.

That day I began chatting with Dr. Saggar via Facebook — we’d been online friends for some time — before my 2015 fall resulting in a broken finger & visit to his urgent care facility on Olive. We chatted online but earlier this week it was his business manager Laura Malley that let me in so I could photograph the space in the  Ely Walker Lofts building.

You might not be familiar with the Ely Walker building:

Built in 1907 by Eames & Young as a dry-goods warehouse, the building once housed manufacturers of shoes, Catholic school uniforms, gun holsters and party supplies. The Ely Walker Lofts retain the building’s original name, commemorating David Walker, President George W. Bush’s great-grandfather. Renovations began in January 2006 and were completed in May 2007—just in time for the building’s centennial. (St. Louis Magazine)

Here’s background on David Davis Walker:

In 1857, Walker went to St. Louis for business training with the merchandiser Crow, McCreery & Co., then the largest wholesale dry goods house in the city. He worked his way up from office boy, and became a partner after just eight years with the firm. He became ill as a result of his workaholic habits, quitting in 1878, and spent the next two years recovering.

In 1880, he went back to work, forming Ely, Walker & Co. with Frank Ely and others. The business was a huge success, and in 1883 it was incorporated as the Ely & Walker Dry Goods Company. He remained President of the company until 1892, and thereafter retained the largest interest in the firm. His sons David Davis, Jr., Joseph Sidney and George Herbert all had involvement with the Ely & Walker firm, which continued as a major clothing manufacturer until it was acquired by Burlington Industries after World War II, but George went into banking. (Wikipedia)

You might not have shopped at a Lucky’s, it’s still a small chain. But that’s going to change quickly:

The Kroger Co. has forged a “strategic partnership” with Boulder, Colo.-based specialty grocer Lucky’s Market. The hybrid deal, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to significantly accelerate the growth of the 17-store Lucky’s banner in new and existing markets.

Kroger officials said the partnership, which closed on April 1, is designed to further enhance the best products, practices and techniques of Lucky’s Market, combining them with the Cincinnati-based retailer’s scale and experience to generate more benefits for customers. The alliance further demonstrates the Cincinnati-based grocery giant’s “deep ongoing commitment to providing customers with affordable fresh organic and natural foods as a part of its Customer 1st strategy,” according to Kroger, which indicated that the deal will gel well with its first-ever small format Main & Vine concept store in Gig Harbor, Wash., which mixes local, specialty and everyday products. (Progressive Grocer) 

The two existing Lucky’s aren’t the only presence Kroger has in the St. Louis region, from April 2015:

After a years-long hiatus, Kroger Co. has returned to the St. Louis market with its Ruler Foods store brand, Cincinnati-based Kroger’s small-footprint, low-price format.

The company plans to open about 10 stores in the area over the next year or two. (Business Journal)

Kroger has an alternative to Aldi and now it has an alternative to Whole Foods. Let’s take a look at the building and the space:

This Lucky’s would be smaller than their Ellisville & Rock Hill locations, but about the same as Schnucks’ Culinaria. The parties are woking toward signing a lease in July with the store opening in Spring or Summer 2017. I’m grateful Dr, Saggar chooses to invest in downtown.

— Steve Patterson