Looking for Lone Star Supermarkets

The city of Dallas is looking for a few good supermarket retailers to open stores in the southern part of this bustling, fast-growing city.

The city council, through its Office of Economic Development (OED), launched a campaign over the summer to make retailers aware that it was willing to help them open stores in the southern section of Dallas, an area of some 500,000 residents that is underserved by full-line grocery stores.

The council allocated up to $3 million in seed money to help retailers open stores in the area, with the only stipulations being that the stores be at least 25,000 square feet in selling size and the ownership engage the local community, including hiring workers from the neighborhood. Hopefully, by the time the deadline for proposals arrives on Nov. 28, a number of companies will have applied for the funds.

The Dallas City Council made the decision to allocate the funds after it approved the development of a Costco store within the city borders. “I think it got them thinking about ways to promote other parts of town where there is not enough representation,” says Hammond Perot, assistant director for business services for the OED. “I think the bottom line is that a number of neighborhoods in that part of the city are underserved by supermarkets and, in large part, that is due to incorrect perceptions of the areas.”

Perot emphasizes that only legitimate retailers—willing to put their full resources behind this project—need apply. “There is a great opportunity for a number of grocery stores to make money in these areas,” he notes. “Plus they can provide services to the people who live in these areas. Right now, many of these people are buying their groceries at convenience stores and are not making healthy food choices because they do not have options to do so.”

Perot adds that the only stipulation on the funding is that they go towards the “projected costs associated with the development of the stores.”

Finally he holds out a carrot for any retailer considering getting involved with Dallas. Noting that the city currently has 1.2 million residents and the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has registered growth in excess of 100,000 people for more than 50 consecutive years, Perot says it is a great time to get more involved with the region. “This is a growth area and a great place to be doing business in,” he says.