Local grocery store to open new location in Bronzeville neighborhood

Healthy food is hard to come in one north side neighborhood.

"There's more to eat than just microwaveable food and chips and soda," said barbershop owner Deveron Moore.

Moore said it's normal for Bronzeville residents and business owners to go to the local gas station for food. The area is considered a food desert, where there is no easy access to a local grocery store.

"You need fresh vegetables and fruit to feed the mind," he said. "So we deserve that in these parts as well."

Those healthy food options will now be at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and North Avenue, the home of a new grocery store.

"This will become Pete's Fruit Market," said Deshea Agee, executive director of the Historic King Drive Business Improvement District.

Pete's Fruit Market is a family-owned business that serves the city's south side.

Now, another diverse community can benefit from high quality produce and meats. It's a service Bronzeville residents have been waiting for, for a long time.

"Roughly three years ago, we had a scenario where a local grocery store was supposed to go here and that did not happen," Agee said.

Local leaders see the new grocery store as a catalyst to more neighborhood development.

"They have committed to hiring locally so we're excited about those jobs," said Agee.

Jobs and close access to fresh foods to live a healthier lifestyle.

"It'll be good to have one on this corner," said Moore.

The Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation is helping to pay for the project. The store's grand opening is expected for late 2016.