With construction underway at Market on Forbes,
IGA, Oakland’s central business corridor, is poised to have its first grocery store in 11 years.
Located at 3609 Forbes Ave., the 4,000-square-foot full-service market will carry 3,000 items, and will include a deli, rotisserie kitchen and seating area for 15 people. Architect is
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Specializing in general grocery products, the market will also sell sandwiches and wraps, basic supplies and IGA private label items.
“We anticipate doing a big lunch and snack business, and dinner. We’ll sell a lot of things in smaller quantities, grab and go items,” says Oakland developer and market owner Ron Levick, who expects to open August 15 and to hire 20 employees. “It’s a neighborhood market. We’re anticipating people coming in daily. One hundred percent of our business will be foot traffic.”
The second-floor market is housed within a 50,000-square-foot property owned by Levick and previously home to Club Laga and Upstage, which includes 20 upper-level student apartments and University of Pittsburgh offices. Street level tenants include
SUPERCUTS, CD Warehouse and a Chinese restaurant.
Levick—who looks forward to serving the 100,000 people who work and study in Oakland daily—says the closest grocery stores are on the South Side and in Squirrel Hill. “We’ve been waiting for a grocery store for years. It's going to be a
great asset for the community,” says Georgia Petropoulos, with
OBID.
Located adjacent to
Chipotle and
Caribou Coffee, the market will also be joined by a new
Pizza Sola planned for Forbes. Atlanta-based IGA operates 4,000 locations throughout the country, with two area markets.
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSource: Ron Levick, Market on Forbes IGA; Georgia Petropoulos, Oakland Business Improvement District
Photograph copyright Brian Cohen