Mayfair King Soopers Says Expansion Plan a No-Go

Future For Popular Local Businesses Still a Mystery

By Cara DeGette, GPHN Editor

King Soopers officials say they have shelved plans to expand their store at 14th Avenue and Krameria Street, but several longtime shop owners in the adjacent strip mall report their futures remain a mystery.

“Merchants don’t know what’s happening, the neighbors don’t know what’s happening,” says Shambe Abdul, the owner of the independent Postal Centers USA store, a fixture in the Mayfair Shopping Center.

King Soopers does not own the shopping strip mall directly to the southeast of its store, but it manages the property, including subleasing the retail spaces. The shopping center is a popular destination for many Park Hill residents. Last year, King Soopers notified the storeowners that their longtime leases would not be renewed. At the same time, the grocery chain announced it would “explore” a plan to expand.

In a July 22 letter to City Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman, King Soopers director of public affairs Kelli McGannon provided some details.

“Options we are currently exploring include a potential expansion on the southeast side, this would allow us to meet the demands of the neighborhood and expand our product offerings on things such as: natural and organics, fresh prepared meals, an optimum wellness center and could even include a drive-thru pharmacy,” McGannon wrote.

Any expansion would require rezoning approval from the City Council.

The stores that currently operate in the shopping center include Postal Centers USA, Little Dragon Chinese Restaurant, Nails Touch salon, a check cashing business, dry cleaners, hair salon and a child-care facility. Postal Centers USA has been in business there for nearly 20 years, and many of the others have been there for more than 10 years. Mimi Chan, the owner of the Little Dragon Chinese restaurant, invested $140,000 in upgrades two years ago, expecting she would be at the location until at least 2019, she said.

A petition opposing the displacement of the stores generated more than 1,000 signatures from longtime customers.

“I love being able to shop locally – mail a package, get great Chinese food, get my nails done and drop my cleaning off,” said nearby resident Lisa Gilford. “Those are things that are not covered by a King Soopers.”

The three remaining stores in the 10-shop strip have been vacant for nearly a year. In her letter, McGannon indicated that King Soopers has found it “difficult” to lease spaces to long-term tenants. Abdul points out, however, that there have been no signs in those vacant storefronts advertising the spaces for lease, nor the name and contact information of the leasing agent. He says people expressing interest in leasing the storefronts them routinely inquire at his store about whom to call.

The leasing agent for the properties, Barb Osness, did not return calls or emails from the Greater Park Hill News seeking comment. However, in a mid-December interview, McGannon said that, after reviewing the various options, the King Soopers chain has decided not to pursue the expansion.

“We aren’t making any changes to the location at this time,” McGannon said. “We decided to reinvest our capital in other locations.”

McGannon said that, for the storeowners in the strip mall, it is “business as usual.” However, the storeowners subsequently said they have not been notified of King Soopers’ decision – and they are still unclear about whether they will be allowed to remain in their spaces.  Abdul said that last year, he and other businesses were allowed to renew their leases only until the end of March before going month-to-month.

McGannon said she could not comment on the status of individual leases.

“The bottom line is, they haven’t notified us and they haven’t notified the community,”  Abdul said. “They are just keeping us in limbo. It’s hard to operate a business when you don’t know where your future stands if you are on a month-to-month lease. This is our livelihoods.”

‘The Feel of a Small Town’

Postal Centers USA owner Shambe Abdul and Little Dragon Chinese Restaurant owner Mimi Chan have collected 1,000 signatures from longtime customers who don’t want to see them displaced. Several petition-signers, contacted by Greater Park Hill News, shared some reasons why.

Tom Korson

The reason why I always shop at King Soopers is because they have a great staff, and what I need in terms of groceries. That said, we need to continue to have small businesses there. Shambe Abdul is very hospitable, and he has run a very efficient operation for years. I just don’t want to see that little strip mall tossed out on its ear.

Lisa Gilford

They fulfill a need not met by a supermarket. Obviously if you want to support local, this is the place to start. Mimi Chan, the owner of Little Dragon, put in a lot of improvements with her own money, and she was told in no uncertain terms she could stay. I don’t understand why nobody will call them back about their leases.

Peg Meagher

Shambe is a neighborhood figure. He votes, he’s in touch with the neighborhood, he has three children who work in there part or full-time. They are very caring people. The business owners in that center are the story of Park Hill. This is the thread of Park Hill. Shambe represents the artisans in the community in Mayfair and in Park Hill. He’s just a kindhearted soul, and he needs to stay.

Mike Walker

We don’t use [the stores] that often, so to us, personally, it wouldn’t be a great loss. But I feel in general the megastores are swallowing up everything and these local stores are just getting eaten up. It’s just, how many more gigantic supermarkets do we need with giant parking lots – and why do we need to keep losing these small mom and pop businesses?

Mary Ann Casey

Shambe has been an important part of the neighborhood forever. King Soopers probably thinks that people stop here when shopping for groceries, but really, it’s the other way around.

Connie Frieson

I wish they’d be open about what their plans are. I think it’s frustrating for the wonderful small business owners. I live in Park Hill where there are not big box stores, but there is the feel of a small town. These people will suffer a big loss – you can’t just move a restaurant without losing thousands of dollars. [King Soopers] says they want to make the store bigger to compete with Trader Joe’s and Marczyk’s – well, I don’t blame them for that. But they keep everybody hanging, and so it’s kind of like a big lie and it makes me angry and sad.

— Cara DeGette