CAPE CORAL, Fla. – There's a lack of grocery stores in Northwest Jacksonville and the mayor wants to change that.
Mayor Lenny Curry is asking council members to approve a $750,000 grant to help renovate the vacant Harvey’s Supermarket on Edgewood Avenue North. The area is considered by the city to be a food desert and the space would be leased to Rowe’s I-G-A Supermarket.
Tia Randolph lives nearby and is excited about Rowe's moving into the vacant lot where another grocery store used to be. ”I live in a neighborhood maybe a mile down the road, and this is where we shop. And ever since the store closed, it's been hard. You have to go out of your way to other sides of town. And I'm a commuter. I usually catch the bus or I'm walking. So, it's been absolutely horrible that the market wasn't here."
An old Harvey's store has been sitting on a vacant lot since last year but the site could soon become another full-service grocery store and offer shoppers who don't have a lot of fresh or healthy options.
"I like Rowe's. Rowe's is good. Rowe's has a lot of options, and they cater to not just the regular pallet, they have some of the more Spanish options and Caribbean options as far as the spices and the things that they carry, and the fruits and veggies. They have good produce, that'd be awesome," Randolph said.
The Mayor’s Budget Review Committee approved funding for the $750,000 grant earlier this month.