FORT WORTH, Texas -- Minyard Food Stores, Coppell, Texas, said it opened a new store here -- the first major supermarket to be built in the city's economically depressed Southeast sector in close to 30 years.
Minyard, plus a $660,000 economic development grant for training new employees and various building costs.
Minyard said most of the jobs in the store will go to low- and moderate-income residents of the area.
The store anchors a shopping center with an additional 20,000 square feet of retail space. Eight other retailers, including Blockbuster, are scheduled to open stores in the center over the next few months, the company said.
According to David Hardin, vice president of Minyard Properties, "This is a win-win situation for all involved, including the City of Forth Worth, the residents of southeast Fort Worth and Minyard. Not only are we able to provide jobs to area residents but we are also providing supermarket services to thousands of shoppers in the area who will no longer have to travel very far to shop for groceries."
The store will feature a full array of service departments, plus a U.S. Post Office and a Water Department customer service center; beginning the first week of December, Minyard said, it will also open an eight-pump gasoline station on the 7-acre property.
The store is the third Minyard opening in the Fort Worth area in a three-week period, preceded by openings in late October of two Carnival Stores.
HUD's Economic Development Loan Guarantee Fund provides communities with a source of financing for job creation, housing rehabilitation and construction of public facilities and large-scale development projects.
