The proposed Walmart Neighborhood Market in a former Food Lion store at the Village Shoppes at San Pablo is expected to open in July, creating about 95 jobs.
Walmart spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said Wednesday the market would open in summer 2015. The site is at 1650 San Pablo Road S., at southwest San Pablo Road and Atlantic Boulevard.
Henneberg said Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. designed Neighborhood Markets in 1998 as a smaller-footprint option.
The Neighborhood Markets average 38,000 square feet, she said. They are about a quarter of the size of the average 182,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter.
There are more than 450 markets nationwide, including five in the Jacksonville area.
The Neighborhood Markets offer fresh produce, a full grocery department with a bakery and deli, a pharmacy with the chain’s popular $4 generic prescriptions, health and beauty supplies and select household items.
“In addition to the benefits to our customers, our small format stores also benefit the communities in which they’re located by generating additional tax revenue, stimulating new investment and economic growth, and providing jobs with the opportunity to build a career,” Henneberg said in an emailed statement.
Neighborhood Markets also offer “Site to Store” service, which makes merchandise on Walmart.com available for purchase and delivered for free to the store. Customers can pay online or at the store.
A separate Wal-Mart representative said Tuesday the grand opening is projected in July, based on the project being out for bid and a contract award expected by the end of the month. Construction would start immediately.
The CDCNews construction data service reports bids are due Monday for an estimated construction cost of $6 million.
The Rosen Group of Boca Raton owns two buildings at the Village Shoppes, including the former Food Lion.
President Joseph Maguire said Tuesday the Walmart Neighborhood Market lease boosts Rosen’s 69,348-square-foot space to 88 percent occupancy.
He expects to take that to nearly 100 percent by the time Walmart opens. “We’ve had brisk leasing inquiries since the Walmart was announced,” he said.
The long-rumored Walmart Market at San Pablo was confirmed in August, but a construction timetable was not available.
The city is reviewing updated plans for the proposed 49,433-square-foot market. Developer Wal-Mart Stores East L.P. of Bentonville, Ark., and civil engineer CPH Inc. filed the site improvement plans.
An existing dry cleaner will remain next to the store, plans show. Another small adjoining retail unit also is shown on plans.
It will be the area’s sixth Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grocery-store concept. Walmart has been considering the San Pablo location for a Neighborhood Market for at least two years.
The other five area Neighborhood Markets also are in former Food Lion stores at Wilson Square in Westside; Merrill Station in Arlington; the Crossroads at Mandarin in Mandarin; Julington Square along Florida 13 in St. Johns County; and along County Road 220 in Middleburg in Clay County. Those shopping centers are owned by Gatlin Development Co. Inc. of Fort Lauderdale.
The first three Northeast Florida Neighborhood Markets opened in June 2013.
Food bites
Food- and drink-related businesses filed names with the state Division of Corporations under the Fictitious Name Law to operate:
• Puerto Plata Restaurant, to Universal Foods Inc., 2045 Bayview Road. Rosa Abreu is president and secretary of Universal Foods, and Cesar Espejo is vice president.
• Nothing Bundt Cakes Jackonville, to Cake 4 Partners Inc., principal and mailing address is 110 S. Third St., Jacksonville Beach. Charles Waters is president of Cake 4 Partners, whose address is 13470-3 Beach Blvd.
• Beaches Local Food Network, to Dig Local Inc., mailing address is P.O. Box 331015, Atlantic Beach. Dig Local officers are Brittany Norris, Dezmond Waters, Kody Hanavan, Sara Miles-English and Genevieve Fletcher, all at 96 Dutton Island Road, Atlantic Beach.
• Gandolfo’s New York Deli, to K-Family Network, mailing address is 2259 Amarylis Ave., Middleburg.
Restaurants on the rise
• Wingstop plans to open a restaurant at 5324 Blanding Blvd., Units 9-10, at northwest Blanding Boulevard and 103rd Street. Scherer Construction of North Florida is the contractor for the 1,749-square-foot restaurant at a renovation cost of $220,000, according to a building-permit application.
• McDonald’s proposes a restaurant near northeast Blanding Boulevard and Branan Field Road in Clay County at Plantation Crossing in Middleburg. St. Johns River Water Management District documents show the address as 1782 Blanding Blvd. McDonald’s Corp. in Tampa is shown as the owner. It’s a 4,388-square-foot building on 1.41 acres. CPH Inc. is the project civil engineer.
Licensed to serve
Duval County Tax Collector Michael Corrigan issued business licenses for:
• RS Hot Spot, to Ray C. Stamper, 4956 Rochdale Road. Mobile vendor.
• Balla’s Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge LLC, to Gary A. Brown, 1410 Palmdale St.
• MD Southside LLC, to Roy Joseph Vollick, 9802 Baymeadows Road, No. 22.
• Hayashi Sushi Restaurant LLC, to Qiu Mei, 4820 Deer Lake Drive W.
• Krispy Kreme #166, to Krispy Kreme Donut Corp., 6250 103rd St.
• Shut Em Down, to Authentic Southern Restaurant LLC, Richard Lee Jones, 6251 Argyle Forest Blvd., No. 102.
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