Johnstown, PA (WJAC) — Ideal Market in Johnstown closed earlier this summer, leaving the downtown area without a grocery store, but city officials say replacing the store is a top priority.
6 News spoke with city officials about how they say they are taking steps toward bringing a grocery store back to the downtown area.
Officials say the new store will not be an Ideal Market but say they're looking to replace the business as quickly as possible.
Johnstown officials say hundreds, if not thousands of residents in downtown are suffering with Ideal Market on Walnut Street closing its doors this summer.
“The Ideal Market was the only source of fresh food in the downtown area, and there's a lot of residents who live downtown. A lot of people who live downtown don't have access to transportation. For those who don't have transportation, it's really difficult to get to another grocery store, so it's critical that we eliminate this food desert,” said city manager Ethan Imhoff.
City officials say they are not sure who will fill the vacancy as of now.
“We have had conversations with several grocery store operators that serve the area and so we're hopeful that it will be another grocery store chain, but it won't be an Ideal Market,” Imhoff added.
He says even after finding a new operator, there could be some delays.
“It's an older facility, so it needs some upgrades. So, there's going to have to be some work that needs to be done to the facility before it reopens,” Imhoff noted.
He says replacing the refrigeration system, changing signage and cleaning up the old building are steps that the new owners may want to take before opening.
Officials say there is no exact timeline right now, but they're hoping a new store opens as soon as possible.
“I think definitely this year is a possibility. Absolutely. We would like to have it open by the end of the year. I can't guarantee that, but certainly we'd like to have a new operator in there by the end of the year.”
Officials say the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority owns the building, which should make replacing the store a quicker process.
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