Closed Confluence Foodmart goes up for sale – with nearby home
The owners of the former Confluence Foodmart are looking for someone to take over the closed grocery – with a nearby three-bedroom house on Williams Street also on the market. “We want to sell or rent,” said Sam Patel, principal, Jay Narayan 1 LLC, which owns the store. “It’s a very nice property. “Everything is…
The owners of the former Confluence Foodmart are looking for someone to take over the closed grocery – with a nearby three-bedroom house on Williams Street also on the market.
“We want to sell or rent,” said Sam Patel, principal, Jay Narayan 1 LLC, which owns the store. “It’s a very nice property.
“Everything is the same there. Just bring inventory and registers,” he said.
Patel said the store still had coolers for produce, meats, milk and frozen products, but electricity to the building has been shut off. He declined to provide an asking purchase price or rent.
The 12,700-square-foot grocery closed in February after operating as a food store since the 1960s, leaving the nearby DG Market as the only place in the area for fresh fruits, vegetables and meats.
Although the closed store is a desirable location, Patel said making a go of it as a grocery was difficult in a small town with high fixed costs and a limited customer base. He said DG Market also struggles, and predicted it would also close within a few years.
Small grocery stores have had a tough go of it for decades.
Between 1990 and 2015, the USDA’s Economic Research Service found that the number of single-location grocery stores in rural counties fell 42.7%. Local chain stores fell 34.7% and regional chains dropped 8.9%.
National chains were the exception, increasing 45.2%, according to the study.
Across from the closed Confluence Foodmart is a one-story home with detached two-car garage at 521 Williams Street, which the store owners have also put on the market. The list price of the house, which has two full bathrooms, is $250,000.
Inquiries about either property can be directed to Sam Patel at 814 792-5184.