New grocery store to open Oct. 26 in Connellsville
CONNELLSVILLE – Roadwork and in-store finishing touches are being completed for the Wednesday, Oct. 26 opening of the Martin’s Food Store at Widewaters Commons in Connellsville. Dennis Hopkins, corporate vice president of marketing and public relations, said Thursday that the supermarket would welcome shoppers beginning at 8 a.m.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will precede the opening, he added.
Liberty Hill, state Department of Transportation acting maintenance program engineer, said that paving and traffic signal installation work along the Route 119 southbound corridor also is being completed at the site in preparation of the store opening.
“The paving should be completed by the end of next week,” said Hill. “The next phase will be to have the (traffic signal) lights flashing for three to seven days before the store opening to alert the (traveling) public.”
The signal will be located at the main entrance to the strip mall. A non-signaled entrance will be located on Route 201.
Roadwork at the intersection has taken place for several weeks, causing traffic tie-ups at peak travel hours in the early morning and mid-afternoon.
With the addition of a turning lane at the traffic signal, those entering or exiting the strip mall will be able to access the site from the north or southbound corridors of Route 119.
City redevelopment authority executive director Ralph Wombacker and authority board president Marilyn Weaver said Thursday that the supermarket opening, along with the completion of other smaller retail stores, begins a new era for the city.
“The opening of Martin’s translates into job opportunities and an increase in the city’s tax base,” said Weaver. “Both are good for the city.”
For nearly a decade, Wombacker has waited for the vacant city property to become productive.
“It has been like a roller coaster,” he said. “Finally, the city is on the upswing.”
In 1997, the authority, along with Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, Connellsville Industrial Enterprises, Greater Connellsville Area Chamber of Commerce and City Council partnered to develop the property.
The agencies hired a consulting firm to advise them through the process, but after months of discussion, the plan failed to garner support from some of the property owners.
Other developers, too, said Wombacker, saw the potential of the property, but were unable to get the project to move forward.
“Widewaters found us,” he said. “What was once a vacant property with overgrown weeds is now a great looking area with several stores in place and, hopefully, more to come.
“We have not forgotten about the hotel and family restaurant. There is plenty of land available for further development.”
Wombacker said he has spoken with Widewaters officials and they, too, are optimistic of additional building projects.
He speculates that those utilizing the Yough Bike/Hike Trail also will support the stores.
The trail is located to the rear of Martin’s Food Store.
“This is a new beginning,” said Wombacker.
The 45,000-square-foot store will include a bakery, floral shop, a produce section that will offer seasonal organic vegetables and fruits, a delicatessen, pharmacy and fresh seafood and butcher shops.
Other stores also preparing to open include Dollar Tree, Check-N-Go, Holiday Hair, New York Pasta and Pizza and Movie Gallery.
Construction at the development site began in January, shortly after the city signed the final sales agreement with Widewaters Development Group.
The New York-based firm purchased the 15.6-acre tract from the city, Traft Construction Co. and Crane Rental proprietors John R. Ketchem and Richard V. Martin and Brown-Kellogg Inc.