In early July, the 3-storey building housing the defunct Russ’s Pastry Shop was sold for a whopping $148, 401. About a week ago, a sign went up broadcasting another ethnic food bazaar opening in the location, which is pretty much par for the course in this neighborhood these days. The sign broadcasts that it will be selling foods from around the world, including Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Burmese, Vietnamese, Nepali, Arabian, Somali, Spanish, and American foods and spices. That pretty much covers most of the ethnic populations living on the West Side of the city.
Not only are there numerous ethnic markets of this sort springing up on the West Side, the markets appear to be getting bigger and bigger as well. This particular building, circa 1810, boasts 8400 square feet of operating space on three floors. The bakery had once used the first floor for retail, the second floor for prep and the third floor for storage, which I would think would be conducive to a market selling so many varieties of foods from all over the world.
The previous owner of the building had picked it up on December 14, 2012 for $117,500, and turned it around to United Super Bazar Inc. six months later for a quick tidy profit. The building sits near the corner of West Ferry and Grant Street and is located just a few doors down from the successful West Side Bazaar, as well as a number of other ethnic markets.
It was back in 2009 when an International Marketplace concept was first being considered for the Grant-Ferry neighborhood. Fast forward four years and it looks as if that is exactly what this area is becoming. Now, if we could only get some of the surface lots outfitted with some buildings… or even shipping containers would be a nice quick fix!