Tuesday, December 1, 1998

By Shera Dalin
Of The Post-Dispatch

Residents hope the glistening rows of produce and sleek counters in a Schnucks supercenter that opens this morning will bring jobs and economic growth to the blighted Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.

For Thomas Givens, the North Side's only new large retail center since World War II is a personal slice of a prosperity sandwich. Givens is one of 195 nearby residents hired for the Schnucks in the new City Plaza Shopping Center at Union Boulevard and Natural Bridge Road.

"It's a beautiful store," he marveled as employees streamed from the entrance after a pre-opening pep rally Monday afternoon.

Before they left, each employee received a bag of groceries as a welcome gift.

"It's a beautiful gesture," Givens said, as he hefted the bag full of spaghetti, sauce, soda and other items.

The 62,400-square-foot store opens at 9 a.m. today. One man managed to make his way to the check-cashing counter Monday before employees could explain that the store wasn't ready for business yet.

"It's a good thing for the people over here," said Quilona Chandler, whose mother lives about a mile from the store.

"It'll provide more job opportunities for people," seconded her friend, neighborhood resident Kristy Wright.

"It looks like everything is growing and getting better," Chandler said.

This is exactly the hope of city officials and Schnuck Markets Inc. Chairman Craig Schnuck. "We think there are great opportunities for retailers and to stimulate other growth and development in the area," Schnuck said.

Mayor Clarence Harmon projected that all of St. Louis will benefit from the opening.

"As the tax base for this area increases, more residents and businesses will want to move in," the mayor said.

The store at 3431 Union Boulevard is Schnucks' largest on the North Side. The shopping center also includes 18,000 square feet for other shops.

Several smaller retailers have opened already, including clothing stores Simply Fashions and Ashley Stewart Woman. Sun Beauty, National Rent To Own and Quizno's restaurant are also setting up.

Construction on a Denny's restaurant will begin next month.

Schnucks has been trying to attract other retailers like Wal-Mart or Target to the site, formerly a parking lot for the old General Motors plant across the street, but has had no success, Schnuck said.

"They're waiting to see how we do," he said. "We believe this will be an above-average store in terms of customers."

About five major grocery stores serve more than 117,000 people on the North Side. Like many other core cities, St. Louis has difficulty attracting new supermarkets because of retailers' fears of crime and financial losses.

In a 15-block area around City Plaza, one person in five is unemployed, even as the jobless rate for the metro area as a whole is 3.7 percent. Nearly 2,000 people applied for the 195 jobs at the new store, and there is a waiting list for the roughly 20 part-time jobs that are expected to open each month from attrition.

Forty-five other store employees and managers transferred from other Schnucks stores.

The grocery's bakery, seafood counter, deli and pharmacy are like those at any Schnucks, but some items are targeted specifically to the local clientele. For instance, the meat case has a large assortment of pork products such as pig ears and feet, hog maws and chitterlings, and the home furnishings department displays black-themed art.

The store's opening is a victory for North Side residents in a food fight of sorts.

Over the objections of Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., Alderman Sharon Tyus, D-20th Ward, delayed the City Plaza project for two years. She demanded that several other large retailers must agree to join the development.

Originally, the development was to cover 35 acres. But the mall Tyus envisioned was stymied after Venture Stores Inc. retreated from the deal and no other retailer would commit to the project.

Schnucks and its partners - Clifton Gates, Dr. Donald Suggs and Claude Weatherby - invested $10 million in the shopping center. The city is contributing $2.7 million.

The newest Schnucks replaces a smaller store at 4331 Natural Bridge Road,
eight blocks east.

Copyright (c) 1998, St. Louis Post-Dispatch