'People first had to believe in downtown': After long effort, Phoenix's urban core gets its first supermarket

Andy Lucich has lived in downtown Phoenix for almost a decade and has worked in the area for the past five years. He didn't always own a car during that time, which created problems.

"One of the biggest challenges was getting groceries," he said. "I sometimes had to call Uber if getting a large order or I had to take light rail."

Some of those challenges will disappear when downtown's first supermarket opens at First Street and Jefferson, just north of Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Many downtown workers, and especially residents, can't wait for the Fry's ribbon-cutting Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m., with the store opening at 8 a.m.

"Most of the people in my building are excited and will be there when it opens," said Nickie Casciaro, a bookkeeper and accountant who lives at the Orpheum Lofts a couple of blocks away. "I want to make sure I have a front-row view of the ribbon-cutting."

Critical to area's development

The lack of a supermarket long has been viewed as an impediment to development downtown, despite the prevalence of jobs, restaurants, sporting events and cultural amenities such as museums.

"A grocery store is part of the infrastructure of a (developed) urban neighborhood," said Dan Klocke, executive director of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership and head of the group's economic development department. "This really is a signal that all of the pieces have come together."

The store could become an important focal point for the roughly 65,000 people who work within a mile or so, along with the 12,000 or so permanent residents — not to mention tourists, Arizona State University students and fans attending games at the nearby arena or Chase Field. The new store is situated near multiple light rail stations.

Casciaro plans to walk to the new Fry's. She has driven to a Safeway near Third Street and McDowell Road and a Sprout's Farmers Market at Seventh Avenue and Osborn Road.

Residential momentum continues

Downtown's growth, which slowed during the recession, has picked up in recent years. In fact, the area has added more than 2,600 residential units since Fry's announced its plans four years ago, Klocke said, with another 2,000 residential units under construction and 2,600 or so planned within several months.

"Over the last three years, the residential market has exploded," he said. 

Ron Butler, managing partner at Ernst & Young in Arizona and chairman of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, hailed the new Fry's and the high-rise building it will anchor as another sign of a "vibrant and growing downtown." 

Metro Phoenix overall has expanded, with one of the nation's strongest employment markets and high rates of in-migration. Overall retail vacancy rates have stayed in the single-digit range for 20 straight quarters, said Colliers International, a real estate services firm. The company called metro Phoenix "healthy despite national retail struggles."

But the numbers by themselves didn't ensure a company such as Kroger, which owns Fry's, would take a chance.

"People first had to believe in downtown," Klocke said.

Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8616