Popular international grocery store to open new location in KC’s Northland
.jpg "Two women chat while grabbing produce from World Fresh Market in Overland Park in 2024.")
After sitting empty for more than 15 weeks, a former Northland grocery store location is finally getting a new tenant as a popular Johnson County grocer expands across state lines.
The Kansas City metro’s second World Fresh Market location is expected to open in the space at 4357 NE Chouteau Trafficway later this summer after Sunfresh announced its closure in February.
Eddie Musallet, the owner of World Fresh Market in Overland Park and several El Mercado Fresco locations across the metro, hopes to open the new location by the end of July or beginning of August after completing renovations to both the inside and outside the building.
Once it’s all completed, the store will offer a range of Asian, Middle Eastern, European, Hispanic and American products, along with bakery items and fresh produce..
But, most importantly, Musallet said the new location will help fill a crucial gap for the community, providing a place to buy a wide variety of groceries in a diverse area.
“It’s bare up there. There’s a lot of different stores like, say, Pan-Asia and stuff like that in Overland Park. There’s none of that up north,” he told The Star. “I think the community needs it.”
The latest census data shows nearly every municipality in Clay and Platte counties has grown in population since 2020, some by only 1%, while others increased by upwards of 14%. Both Parkville and North Kansas City saw the highest rates of growth over five years, with populations rising by 22% and 23%, respectively.
In Clay County, 8.6% of residents are Hispanic, up from 7.4% in 2020; 2.8% are Asian, the same as five years ago; and 8.6% are Black, an increase from 7%.
In Platte County, 7.6% of people are Hispanic, up from 6.7%; 3.1% are Asian, an increase from 2.6%; and 9.1% of the population are Black, up from 7.8%.
Not only does Musallet expect people to travel throughout the metro to visit the new World Fresh Market location, he also predicts people will travel from out of state to stroll its aisles.
“It’s going to bring people from Saint Joe and probably all the way from Nebraska,” he said.
At the Overland Park World Fresh Market, which opened in May 2024, shoppers can find made-to-order tacos and gyros, a variety of seafood and cuts of pork, chicken, lamb and beef. The store also features international sodas, vegetables and specialties ranging from candies to halal meat, ice cream and traditional Mexican frozen treats.
Musallet said the new store will likely bring in around $150,000 in sales tax revenue each month and employ 120 people.
The Kansas City Council recently approved a proposal to establish the Chouteau Crossings Community Improvement District around the store, charging an additional 1% sales tax that will fund any needed repairs to the building or parking lot.
Musallet said he specifically plans to upgrade the facade of the building, outside landscaping and improve the interior.
“It needs it,” he said.
The announcement comes just weeks after North Kansas City unveiled plans to open its own branch of the World Fresh Market and El Mercado Fresco brand called Fresh Market of Northtown, which is set to open in 2027 and will be part-owned by Musallet.
Musallet has been hoping to expand in the Northland for some time, he said, especially after opening an El Mercado Fresco location in Gladstone last year.
And the Northland’s recent growth over the past five years has made a store north of the river even more attractive, he said.
“We like the Northland. It’s a growing community, especially up north. It’s just it’s growing, growing, growing,” he said. “So we’re excited to come, and we can’t wait to meet our customers.”
