Pine & Peoria

[richardnixon68]

Former Albertsons location to gain convenience store
A Fiesta Mart will open at Pine Street and Peoria Avenue, according to Arkansas Valley Petroleum.

By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Published: 2/17/2009  2:23 AM
Last Modified: 2/17/2009  3:57 AM

There's no replacement for Albertsons yet, but a new convenience store could soon put some life back into the area at Pine Street and Peoria Avenue.

Omega Alpha Development Group, which owns the former grocery site vacated in 2007 by Albertsons Inc., says that a 2,000-square-foot Fiesta Mart will open within 60 days in the now-empty Albertsons convenience store at the site.

Omega Alpha President Jonathan Graber said Arkansas Valley Petroleum, which operates Fiesta Mart stores, had considered the area even before the Boise, Idaho, chain left, taking away the neighborhood's only grocery store.

"Arkansas Valley had their eye on it for a long time," he said, as first reported Monday on tulsaworld.com.

"It has good highway access, and the area is underserved by convenience stores."

Omega Alpha, a Tulsa firm, purchased the vacant grocery, the former convenience store and the surrounding 7.5 acres for $1.65 million late last year specifically to help find a replacement food store and encourage redevelopment of the area.

Graber said replacing the convenience store separately is the first step in that plan, as it will help attract a new grocery tenant.

"Most grocery store operators we've been talking with aren't interested in being in the convenience store business," he said. "They would rather have someone else focus on it."

The search for a new grocer is going slowly, but Omega Alpha is making progress, Graber said. The group continues to focus on tenants with clear business plans that intend to stay in the area for the long term.