Sun Fresh to receive thousands of dollars while other store owners await seat at the table
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Nearly three-quarters of a million dollars could go to help a local grocery store in need.
On Thursday, the city council will hear the amendments made to an ordinance that will help Sun Fresh in the Linwood Shopping Center stay afloat.
Since 2015, the city has poured $21 million into the Linwood Shopping Center. In 2018, the city leased out the grocery store to Sun Fresh, which is operated by a non-profit, Community Builders of Kansas City.
In the fall, the city appropriated $1.2 million for the store. But the city and ownership couldn’t come up with a deal with how things are running right now, so that money hasn’t been allocated to them directly.
On Tuesday, Mayor Quinton Lucas made the amendments, which would split up the money; $161,000 would go to rent relief, and $450,000 would go towards operational needs.
Then, in six months, Sun Fresh’s owners and others will meet to discuss long-term plans.
“We recognize that you can’t just give money to people forever,” Lucas said. “To me, this is not something where we are buying groceries for some store versus another. What we’re doing is saying this is our tenant, and for our tenant, we’re going to make sure that we fund adequately security, which has been an issue; for our tenant, we’re going to make sure that we fund adequately, infostructure both at the store and nearby. That is the sort of work we are doing right now.”
KCTV5 has reported extensively on issues seen in and around the store. Theft, crime, and violence have caused safety concerns for years.
Most recently, many of the shelves have sat empty, concerning both shoppers and city leaders like Councilwoman Melissa Robinson.
Robinson told KCTV5 that this money is to help “stop the bleeding,” saying this area cannot afford for this store to close. Robinson also shops at the store and started to notice it declining over the summer. She also said the issues boil down to safety concerns, saying sales are declining.
Meanwhile, one mile down the road at Happy Foods, owner Mo Abubakar shares the same concerns.
“This is a food desert area, no big chain wants to come here,” Abubakar said.
On Tuesday, Abubakar spoke in front of the city council, voicing his concerns that the money only would be going to Sun Fresh.
“We have a lot of hurdles and difficulties that we face. Security, inflation, sales,” Abubakar said. “Our store is in the same area, so if they get benefits, why don’t we? We want to improve it as well.”
Abubakar took over the store in 2023 and pays $10,000 a month just for security. On top of that, he’s put in over $100,000 for infrastructure improvements.
“This community needs a nice grocery store,” Abubakar said. “We work hard to be that.”
Lucas said that they are willing to sit down with owners like Abubakar, but in the end, this comes down to being a good landlord and helping their current tenant.
“We are making sure, in this situation, that we are fair in saying, if you are our tenant, we have a special relationship,” Lucas said. “For everybody, you have to fight fairly in the world of business and that’s exactly what we plan to do.”
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