Thomas Breen photo
Looking through the Chapel Street window glass at an empty Elm City Market, last October.
An independent, full-service grocery store will be moving into the old Elm City Market space on the ground floor of 360 State St. this spring.
Beachwold Residential, which owns the 500-unit downtown apartment building, made that announcement in a Monday afternoon press release.
The supermarket will be called “Market 360,” and will occupy the 20,000 square-foot ground floor retail space that Elm City Market filled for over a decade, before it closed up shop last fall with plans to reopen in a much smaller space at the new “Square 10” apartment complex at the old Coliseum site.
“Market 360 will be operated by veteran independent Connecticut-based grocers Kim and Chris Choe, owners of the Sharon Farm Market in Sharon, Connecticut,” according to Monday’s press release. “The new grocery store will offer a wide selection of products, including meats, cheeses, fresh fish, sushi, produce, deli, café, and a bakery.”
The new supermarket will “focus on providing locally sourced products including vegetables, pork, and lamb from over 20 local farms; regionally sourced seafood from the North Atlantic, and eggs from their 129-acre all-natural farm in North Canaan, Connecticut.” It will also include pet supplies, kitchen and houseware products, and flowers.
And it will allow for free parking for all shoppers at the 360 State St. garage.
The store expects to employ around 50 people, and will have a “soft opening” in March and a “grand opening” in April or May.
“We are pleased to announce the re-opening of downtown New Haven’s largest supermarket at 360 State Street this spring. In selecting an Operator, we looked for a store that would serve all of New Haven and the surrounding area – not just downtown,” Beachwold Senior Vice President Dan DeStefano is quoted as saying in the press release. “The Choe’s relationships with wholesalers and local businesses allows them to deliver high-quality farm fresh foods at reasonable prices. Free covered parking and home delivery will be available.”
“On behalf of the City of New Haven, I am thrilled to welcome Market 360 to the Elm City,” Mayor Justin Elicker is quote as saying in the press release. “360 State Street is one of New Haven’s iconic mixed-use, mixed-income developments, and continuing to have a convenient downtown market at this site that offers high-quality, locally-sourced groceries and goods is wonderful news for the residents of the Ninth Square, Downtown, Wooster Square, and other nearby neighborhoods,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.”