Harmon's to Open First Urban Store in Salt Lake City

CATHY ZAVODNI

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Harmon's Grocery Stores here will open its first urban store in a recently announced mixed development plan to revitalize downtown Salt Lake City.

The family-owned retailer will build a 55,000-square-foot store within a three-block, 20-acre core development area. The store will open in 2008, and will aim to provide “a unique and urbane shopping experience,” said Bob Harmon, vice president of marketing.

The downtown location will be a departure for Harmon's, whose 12 stores, ranging from 65,000 to 72,000 square feet, are primarily in suburban shopping settings. Harmon's will compete with two supermarket retailers, Albertsons and Smith's Marketplace, whose stores, considered to be on the outskirts of downtown, are respectively about three blocks and seven blocks away from Harmon's projected site.

The downtown store will feature Harmon's latest fresh food concepts, recently introduced at its remodeled Brickyard store here, Harmon's said in a statement. These include chef-prepared delicatessen entrees; sushi, salad and olive bars; an artisan bread bakery; a Healthy Living section with organic foods; an Internet cafe; and a designer floral department.

Harmon's operates primarily in the Salt Lake City area, but its span stretches about 80 miles, with a store in Ogden, Utah, 40 miles to the north, and a location in Orem, Utah, 40 miles to the south.

The chain's primary wholesaler is Associated Food Stores, Salt Lake City.

Harmon's has signed a letter of intent to purchase land to build the store from Property Reserve, the commercial real estate arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, owner of the redevelopment site. In addition to Harmon's, the complex, to be known as City Creek Center, will include three national department stores, new and refurbished office towers, new residential buildings, underground parking, and six acres of gardens and open space.

Completion of the center is set for 2011.