A new grocery store plans to open in Northland. Why NKC mayor calls it ‘historic’
For the first time in about three decades, a full-service grocery store is coming to North Kansas City, marking the end of a years-long battle to attract a new grocer to the area and end a longtime food desert just north of the Missouri River.
Fresh Market of Northtown, a branch of the locally owned World Fresh Market and El Mercado Fresco, is set to open sometime next year within the city’s One North redevelopment area near Diamond Parkway. The grocery store will feature meat counters, fresh produce, a bakery and a small restaurant.
But for Mayor Jesse Smith, the announcement made during a North Kansas City Council meeting Tuesday night is about more than just opening a new business in the area. It’s about providing a long-awaited service to the community and accomplishing a goal he set out to see through when he first ran for office in 2019.
And now, after seven years, Smith can finally check bringing in a full-service grocery store to North Kansas City off of his to-do list.
“This is a historic moment in North Kansas City,” he told The Star. “It’s a major milestone.”
Addressing a food desert with a grocery store
The North Kansas City Council approved plans for the new 51,000-square-foot grocery store Tuesday night, which included the sale of around 6.8 acres of land owned by the city.
City officials have long tried to attract a grocery store to the community to address the food desert in the area, but previous deals either fell through or nothing seemed to materialize, Smith said.
North Kansas City currently only has a Save A Lot, which is great for quick grocery runs or buying staples, Smith said, but Fresh Market of Northtown will offer greater variety and be more of a one-stop-shop with a meat and seafood counter, deli, bakery, floral department, liquor store, quick-service food options and a restaurant or café.
“This is like your every trip kind of grocery store,” he said.
Having to travel for groceries
Outside of the Save A Lot, North Kansas Citians typically have to travel for groceries, something they’ve had to do for about 30 years, when North Kansas City last had a full-service grocer.
Once it’s built in 2027, Fresh Market of Northtown will be one of the only full-service grocery stores between downtown Kansas City and Liberty, according to Smith.
“So it’s really monumental,” he said.
