The secret is out of the grocery bag.
West Point Market is finally going public with the location of its new store in Fairlawn: the vacant shopping center at 33 Shiawassee Ave.
The site — one building off West Market Street — is where the iconic Akron specialty grocery plans to reinvent itself, after selling its old site on West Market in Akron to make way for a Whole Foods grocery. The Shiawassee location is about two miles west of the old store, which closed at the end of last year.
“This will be the first new West Point store, or flagship store and then other locations will come after that,” said Rick Vernon, third-generation owner of the nearly 80-year-old specialty grocery market.
Vernon was referring to plans revealed last year for a new West Point business model including satellite stores.
The Fairlawn and satellite stores will be smaller versions of the roughly 25,000-square-foot original store, featuring the “best of West Point,” including prepared foods, baked goods, a healthy wine and cheese selection and cafes. Possible locales for satellite stores include Medina, Brecksville and Shaker Heights, Vernon has said.
No opening date has been set for the Shiawassee store, behind a Summa Health System urgent care facility that faces West Market. Vernon said Thursday he plans to open after renovations are complete, a process that could take several months.
The Shiawassee plaza — which was home to a beauty school and an auto parts store and has been vacant for several years — is a decades-old structure that totals about 9,500 square feet. Vernon is planning to add a kitchen onto the existing building, bringing the space to about 11,000 square feet.
Vernon plans to lease the building, owned by John Chlebina, who owns dozens of commercial and residential properties in the Akron area.
“It’s a great spot. We looked at many locations” in Fairlawn, Vernon said. “The parking is wonderful. There’s 100 spaces easily and a light right at Market and Shiawassee, east of Summit Mall.
“I think it’s a perfect spot,” Vernon said. “I’m hoping the customers will think that, too.”
A West Point sign will be visible from Market Street. “You’ll know we’re there,” Vernon said.
Members of the Fairlawn Planning Commission are scheduled to discuss plans for the property at their meeting April 14.
Negotiations over possible sites have taken longer than expected, Vernon has said, noting he’s well aware that the longer fans go without West Point the more likely they are to change their shopping habits for good.
Plans are still in the works to open a West Point in downtown Akron. Vernon said that because of ongoing negotiations he can’t say where. The downtown space already has a kitchen.
Meanwhile, the old West Point building in Akron’s Wallhaven neighborhood was demolished earlier this year. The Whole Foods is scheduled to open between April and June of 2017. It will anchor West Point Marketplace, a development of S.J. Collins Enterprises of Fairburn, Ga.
An entity affiliated with S.J. Collins paid $4.5 million for the West Point property, according to Summit County property tax records.
West Point officials said last year that the sale of the property would allow them to create a new, more sustainable West Point business, which they informally dubbed “West Point II.”
In recent years, West Point, like others in the specialty grocery business, faced increased competition, with traditional grocers expanding their offerings and a growth in high-end chains.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com.