You’ll be able to buy your holiday wine and some other treats at the new West Point Market.
The first phase of the reinvented West Point, including a wine department with a bar, is scheduled to open by the end of October at the previously announced Fairlawn location. Construction at the vacant shopping center at 33 Shiawassee Ave., just off West Market Street, is expected to begin this month.
“We’re still alive,” said Rick Vernon, third-generation owner of the 80-year-old specialty market that closed at the end of 2015 and suspended retail operations while it relocated.
Vernon noted that while renovation has yet to begin, there has been a lot of behind-the-scenes activity going on for months. West Point went public with the Shiawassee location this spring.
The plaza is where the store plans to re-establish itself, after selling its old site at West Market Street and Hawkins Avenue in Akron to make way for a 365 by Whole Foods grocery. The location is about two miles west of the old store.
The work will be undertaken in two phases, with the goal of creating a grocery that features the “best of West Point,” including prepared foods, baked goods, and a healthy wine and cheese selection.
The first phase — the one officials plan to have open by the end of October — will include some holiday specialty items, such as packaged cakes, cookies and chocolate, and the wine department, with an inventory of about 2,000 labels. The notably large wine selection represented a big chunk of sales at the former store.
The wine bar will have seating for about 45, with sales by the glass and the bottle. It also will offer beers from local craft breweries on tap and in bottles. Cafe seating will be available in the area when phase two is complete.
That second phase will encompass the store’s fresh and prepared food departments, including cheeses, meats, bakery items, oven-ready foods, deli items, chocolate and ice cream. That phase also will include some “customer favorite” specialty foods, such as salsas and jams, and nonfood items. Vernon did not disclose a construction timetable for the second phase.
There won’t be space for a traditional produce department, Vernon said. However, the store will feature fresh-squeezed juices, prepared fruit and vegetable items like guacamole, and local produce. For example, apples from an area orchard could be offered in the fall.
Custom floral arrangements won’t be available as they were in the old store, but officials are considering making room for bouquets-to-go and some potted plants and flowers.
Vernon said he and other store leaders will strive to “maintain the heart and soul of the original store,” with “wonderful employees” offering “great customer service.”
He has kept some managers on the payroll to help plan the relocation, including Bill Krauss, who headed the wine department in the old store and will do so in the new one.
The Shiawassee plaza is a decades-old structure that totals about 9,500 square feet. It was home to a beauty school and an auto parts store but has been vacant for several years. Vernon is planning to add a kitchen and bakery to the existing building, bringing the space to about 12,000 square feet.
Vernon plans to lease the building, owned by John Chlebina, who owns dozens of commercial and residential properties in the Akron area.
The plan is to open this store and then develop satellite stores with a common commissary. Possible locations for satellites include Medina, Brecksville and Shaker Heights, Vernon has said, and there are preliminary discussions with the Downtown Akron Partnership about West Point being part of a fresh food market in the city.
The old West Point building in Akron’s Wallhaven neighborhood was demolished. The 365 by Whole Foods is scheduled to open in spring 2017, anchoring the new West Market Street Station development.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com.