Text 1405, 119 rader
Skriven 2006-05-14 22:17:46 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Food Zone, Part 1
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ML> I once posted something dumb on ILink, and shortly thereafter
ML> posted a retraction, with a scathing indictment of the intelligence
ML> of the original poster. When I later became a moderator there I
ML> found out that there was some discussion on what to do when a
ML> poster sends a personal attack against himself ...

I participate on a general-interest board where the moderators
routinely shut down any threads like that and occasionally even
issue warnings to people who make a habit of it.

DS> I went by there again last night, to show Lynn the impending new
DS> market.  The sign on the front is now finished.  Food ZONE
DS> International Market.  

From the Springfield Republican comes this story by reporter Mary 
Ellen Lowney: 

SPRINGFIELD - To the joy of shoppers, Food Zone International 
Supermarket opened yesterday at 355 Belmont Ave., filling a 
void in the Forest Park neighborhood since the last tenant left 
early this year.

Supermarket owner Jesus Diaz of New York City said he decided 
to open for business a day before today's official opening to 
appease the steady stream of residents stopping by to ask the 
big question.

"Everyone wanted to know when we were going to open up. We'd be 
stocking the shelves and people would be knocking on the windows. 
Today I said, we're ready, let's do it," said Diaz, who with 
his partner Luis Ferreira owns five grocery stores in and 
around Manhattan. This is their first venture outside New 
York City, he said.

Food Zone will be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 10 
p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on 
Sundays.

The market was bustling late yesterday morning, with browsers 
checking the place out and full-fledged shoppers piling produce, 
fresh meats and fish and other items into grocery carts.

Shoppers themselves were ecstatic, saying they were forced to 
take buses, drive long distances or make do at convenience 
stores when Champion Food Supermarket, closed in late January 
at the 42,000-square-foot space at Belmont Avenue and Oakland 
Street. The location has been home to a supermarket for four 
decades.

"I'm very happy to see it open again. Thank God," said Manny 
Almanzar, who shopped with his wife and baby daughter.

"It's very convenient for me. I've been driving to Boston 
Road for groceries since January," he added. The Almanzar 
family lives nearby on Groveland Street.

Tiffany Danh and her mother, Thanh Tran, also made a stop to 
stock their pantry. They live on Walnut Street and walked 
over when they heard the market was open.

"This is good," said Danh, 17, who translated for her mother. 
"It's right near our house. We don't have to go far at all."

Neighborhood activist and businessman Kevin M. Sears said 
he has been driving by the market daily, waiting for the 
doors to open.

"This is great," said Sears, a real estate broker and the 
co-owner of Sears Realtors on Belmont Avenue.

"I'll be shopping there. For this to be a successful 
neighborhood, people need to do their shopping there. 
We need this," he said.

Sears believes the health of a neighborhood - as well as 
its residents - hinges on having a grocery store within 
its borders, close enough so that people can walk.

The building opened in 1962 as Food Mart, and changed 
ownership over the years to Waldbaum's and A&P. It was 
closed from March 2003 to November 2003, when it opened 
as Forest Park Market and later, Champion Food.

Yesterday, there were walkers, bicycle riders and motor 
vehicles bringing shoppers to the market.

"We heard it was open and we came by quickly to check it o
ut. We'll be back later this afternoon to shop," said 
Angelica Oquendo of nearby Windsor Street.

"I can walk here. It's great," she added.

Diaz said he hired 50 people to work in the market, most 
of them right from the neighborhood. Three-quarters of 
them are bilingual, which is good news for the diverse 
area that includes many immigrants from Southeast Asia, 
South America and Puerto Rico.

He believes he will fare well where a succession of market 
owners have failed over the years.

"I think what we've had here is mismanagement, and that 
won't happen with me. I don't want to lose my money," he said.

For employees like Susan Deslauriers, who stocked fruit 
in the produce section, having the market up and running 
is good news. She has worked there, under different 
management, the past three years.

"They need a store in this community," she said. "I'm 
seeing the same people back in here. Everyone is happy."




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