Latest news with #SunFresh
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chiefs training camp dream comes true for young fan who meets Patrick Mahomes
A Kansas City nonprofit marked a milestone Friday with the opening of its 100th location aimed at increasing access to fresh food in underserved neighborhoods. Kanbe's Markets installed the new location on the city's east side, serving parts of Raytown. The expansion comes after the recent closure of the Sun Fresh grocery store near 31st Street and Prospect Avenue, which leaders say underscores the need for more food access. Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
25-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The government-run supermarket that cost Kansas City taxpayers $29M
A government-run supermarket that has cost Kansas City taxpayers $29million is filled with empty shelves and rotten smells, according to shoppers. Images at the Sun Fresh grocery store show mostly bare shelves and coolers as well as empty meat, produce and deli departments. Shoppers said the store once held the fresh items they needed, but that it has been mostly empty for the last three months - and that some of products available appear to be expired. 'The milk, I am scared to buy some,' shopper Michaelle Randolph told KMBC. 'Even the dates, they may have a few days over. I don't want to buy that.' 'It's a rancid odor. I think something is dead or something's gone bad,' added shopper Jon Murphy. The store opened in 2018 in Kansas City; it was part of a project to bring life back into the city's embattled east side, which did not have a grocery store before. Kansas City, Missouri, has recently been compared to the Mad Max movie series , which offered a terrifying vision of society collapsing into anarchic tribal violence amid resource wars and ecocide. News of the government-owned grocery store's fate comes as several progressive politicians lobby for city-funded grocery stores to help low-income neighborhoods. The Democrats' candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed the creation of five city-owned supermarkets to operate 'without a profit motive.' Meanwhile residents of the area told The Washington Post they are scared to go to the store because of the rampant drug dealing and vagrancy both inside and outside the store. Crooks and hoodlums have little to fear, residents said, as Kansas City has not had its own jail since 2009, and can only access a few dozen detention beds in lockups in nearby counties. Surveillance cameras inside the store have caught several concerning at the shopping center, including a naked woman walking through the store, a person urinating and a couple fornicating on the lawn of the library in broad daylight. According to local media, the store has received $28,997,400 in taxpayer money through bonds, loans, ordinances and subsidies. But there is little to show for it, with the store a very poor cousin of privately-run supermarkets nearby whose clean aisles are stuffed with fresh food. The City of Kansas owns the shopping center where the grocery store is located, after it spent $17 million to buy it and fix it up. The store is run by the nonprofit Community Builders KC, and the city reportedly collects revenue from a 1 percent retail sales tax on purchases. But the supermarket lost $885,000 last year, according to The Washington Post, and now only has 4,000 shoppers a week - down from from 14,000 a few years ago. When asked about the store's poor state, Kansas City Democratic mayor defended the project. 'Mayor [Quinton] Lucas and Kansas City remain deeply committed to access to healthy food on the Prospect corridor,' the mayor's office told KSHB. 'The City will work closely with store ownership and all neighborhood stakeholders to support the long-term viability of the store based on normal revenues from customers and area consumers.' Since its opening, the city has spent tens of thousands of dollars on security as the store dealt with crime in the area of the shopping center.
Daily Mail
24-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Shocking state of $29m government-run supermarket in notorious Mad Max city
A government-run supermarket that has cost Kansas City taxpayers $29million is filled with empty shelves and rotten smells, according to shoppers. Images at the Sun Fresh grocery store show mostly bare shelves and coolers as well as empty meat, produce and deli departments. Shoppers said the store once held the fresh items they needed, but that it has been mostly empty for the last three months - and that some of products available appear to be expired. 'The milk, I am scared to buy some,' shopper Michaelle Randolph told KMBC. 'Even the dates, they may have a few days over. I don't want to buy that.' 'It's a rancid odor. I think something is dead or something's gone bad,' added shopper Jon Murphy. The store opened in 2018 in Kansas City; it was part of a project to bring life back into the city's embattled east side, which did not have a grocery store before. Kansas City, Missouri, has recently been compared to the Mad Max movie series, which offered a terrifying vision of society collapsing into anarchic tribal violence amid resource wars and ecocide. News of the government-owned grocery store's fate comes as several progressive politicians lobby for city-funded grocery stores to help low-income neighborhoods. The Democrats' candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed the creation of five city-owned supermarkets to operate 'without a profit motive.' Meanwhile residents of the area told The Washington Post they are scared to go to the store because of the rampant drug dealing and vagrancy both inside and outside the store. Crooks and hoodlums have little to fear, residents said, as Kansas City has not had its own jail since 2009, and can only access a few dozen detention beds in lockups in nearby counties. Surveillance cameras inside the store have caught several concerning at the shopping center, including a naked woman walking through the store, a person urinating and a couple fornicating on the lawn of the library in broad daylight. According to local media, the store has received $28,997,400 in taxpayer money through bonds, loans, ordinances and subsidies. But there is little to show for it, with the store a very poor cousin of privately-run supermarkets nearby whose clean aisles are stuffed with fresh food. The City of Kansas owns the shopping center where the grocery store is located, after it spent $17 million to buy it and fix it up. The store is run by the nonprofit Community Builders KC, and the city reportedly collects revenue from a 1 percent retail sales tax on purchases. But the supermarket lost $885,000 last year, according to The Washington Post, and now only has 4,000 shoppers a week - down from from 14,000 a few years ago. When asked about the store's poor state, Kansas City Democratic mayor defended the project. 'Mayor [Quinton] Lucas and Kansas City remain deeply committed to access to healthy food on the Prospect corridor,' the mayor's office told KSHB. 'The City will work closely with store ownership and all neighborhood stakeholders to support the long-term viability of the store based on normal revenues from customers and area consumers.' Since its opening, the city has spent tens of thousands of dollars on security as the store dealt with crime in the area of the shopping center.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Despite millions from KC, grocery store says it needs more as shelves go bare
Fights, shoplifting, drug use, public sex: The Sun Fresh grocery store at 31st Street and Prospect Avenue has been battling these issues to the brink of crisis over the past few years. Now, it seems Sun Fresh is running out of food. On Thursday morning, the shelves across wide swaths of the store — the snacks aisle, the soup aisle, entire walls of refrigerated meats — were almost completely bare. One of the two employees The Star was able to find in the building said she had been reporting to work every day unsure if the place would even be in business when she arrived. 'We are not placing big orders,' Emmet Pierson, president of Community Builders KC, the nonprofit that owns the store, confirmed to The Star late Thursday. 'The store is placing orders to fulfill our WIC requirements.' (WIC is a federal food assistance program for low-income pregnant women and children under the age of 5.) The 38,000-square-foot grocery store is the anchor tenant of the Linwood Shopping Center, which the city purchased in 2014. Sun Fresh opened in the summer of 2018 under the operation of John and Pam Lipari. CBKC took over the store in 2022. As the store has struggled — it lost $1.3 million in 2023 — the city has continued to invest in the shopping center. In November, the city council approved an additional $750,000 to the shopping center's CID for to cover additional security and improved lighting. That's on top of millions more since the city bought the shopping center in 2014. Pierson says it's not enough. Asked what could be done to improve the worsening situation, he said the city could 'operate the shopping center in a 'first class' manner as outlined in our lease with KCMO.' 'Get control of the crime in their shopping center,' Pierson said. 'Request police foot patrols during the hours of operation to augment existing private security for the summer months.' Phil DiMartino with the Kansas City Police Department said they've already taken those steps. 'We continue to have increased patrols at 31st and Prospect,' DiMartino said. 'And we (often) have saturation patrols in the area.' Mayor Quinton Lucas noted to The Star in an email Friday that in just the past year, the city has opened a Community Action Network center, staffed by KCPD officers and city staff, across the street from store; collaborated with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority and Kansas City Public Library to enhance safety in the area; and worked with KCPD to increase patrol activity there. 'During my nine years in office, including as a councilman for the area, we proudly have invested tens of millions of dollars to rebuild the shopping center, nearby infrastructure, and to attract further economic development to 31st and Prospect,' Lucas said. 'We will keep doing all we can to return responsibly to a long-term positive outlook (there), evaluating all options, including reasonable city participation and further investment in the store's future.' He added: 'Grocery stores operating one mile south at 39th and Prospect and one mile east on 31st Street show that a grocery operator can succeed in our urban core.' Pierson said there is 'presently' no consideration to sell the store. Asked about a rumor that Cosentino's Market or Ball's Foods had made offers for the store, Pierson said, 'Neither are buying it, nor would they consider the idea.' Third District At-Large Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley, who represents the area and previously described the situation at Linwood Shopping Center as an 'emergency,' told The Star on Friday she wasn't ready to comment on the situation, saying she was waiting to hear more information at a Finance, Governance, and Safety Committee scheduled for Tuesday.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas City councilwoman wants to give $1.2M to Sun Fresh to prevent food desert
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City leaders want to avoid a food desert from evolving on the city's east side. One city councilmember hopes to help a struggling grocery store. The Sun Fresh Market at W. 31st and Prospect Avenue rests on city-controlled property that's been plagued with problems. Missouri Attorney General sues city of Kansas City over Sunshine request FOX4 spoke with Community Builders, the nonprofit that manages the Sun Fresh Market. Emmit Pierson, Jr., the group's CEO, said there isn't enough being done to fight drug deals and prostitution there. He said it's scaring off customers, and in turn, causing store shelves to go bare. On Friday morning, inventory at the store appeared to be low, with many displays and shelves having limited stock. Melissa Robinson, third district city councilmember, is proposing the city give $1.2 million to help the struggling store. Councilwoman Robinson introduced her ordinance during Thursday's city council meeting. 'If you don't have folks who are coming in and patronizing, how are you going to replenish the shelves?' Robinson asked. She said she hopes the money will enable store owners to upgrade their store, replenish their stock and improve security measures. Pierson said the store has been operating at a financial loss for the past two years. 'If you're not a full-line grocery store, you can't offer WIC,' she said. 'That's an important factor here. If we want that store to be viable…it's going to require a certain level of city subsidy.' The closest full-line grocery store, or supermarket, is at least a mile away from that location. Neighboring businesses think of that Sun Fresh store as being a retail hub and an anchor that draws customers. 'It brings good community; it brings a sense of togetherness,' said Marcus Craig, manager at the City Gear located across the street. 'You have all these different people and different ethnicities coming to make up this neighborhood. Each store has its essential elements to it.' Councilwoman Robinson also said that location sat empty for years before Sun Fresh took over. When the previous grocer moved out, the stores around it dried up, too. Some are concerned this could happen again if Sun Fresh isn't able to keep its doors open. The second reading of that proposed ordinance is expected to happen next Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
