BREAKING NEWS: New store set to take over old Big Bear site

The city of Reynoldsburg has announced supermarket chain Giant Eagle has chosen the former Big Bear site at the corner of Brice Road and Livingston Avenue as the location for the chain's newest grocery concept known as Valu King.

According to a press release from the city, the value-focused grocery concept store is set to open early summer 2010. The 32,000-square-foot store is expected to provide up to 45 new full- and part-time jobs, according to the release.

“This is an important project for the City of Reynoldsburg,” Reynoldsburg Mayor Brad McCloud said in the release. “Not only will it satisfy the needs of our community, but it will also jump-start the revitalization of the southwestern area of our city.”

Since the closing of Big Bear in 2004, nearby residents have been clamoring for another neighborhood grocery store, according to the release. Though numerous efforts have been made throughout the years, no small supermarket retailers have been interested in competing with the already established big box grocery chains, and the larger ones have already committed to other locations.

Red Raider Capital, LLC, a local real estate partnership, purchased the site in 2007, envisioning several retail options for the more than 100,000-square-foot building.

“From the time we purchased the site, we have continually received requests from the community to bring us a grocery store,” says Jeff Stavroff, Partner for Red Raider, in the release. “We are thrilled to be delivering a grocery store operator of the caliber of Valu King to our site and to the community. We look at this deal as a springboard in bringing additional users to the site that can serve the immediate neighborhood and community in the very near future.”

Last year, at the direction of Mayor McCloud, a Brice/Livingston Task Force was established to respond to community needs and to assist in securing new businesses to the area. The task force, acting on the recommendations of businesses and residents in the immediate area, has designed a project-specific plan to revitalize this once thriving
district, according to the release.

The Reynoldsburg Valu King will be the fourth such store in the state of Ohio with others located in Eastlake, Norwalk and Ravenna.

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