The State Journal-Register
Tim Landis
Ruler Foods has dropped plans for a discount grocery at MacArthur Boulevard and South Grand Avenue in Springfield a little more than two years after the project was announced. The decision also renews the debate over appropriate development at the busy intersection as part of the larger, long-term strategy for revitalizing the boulevard between South Grand and Wabash avenues.
“It’s an opportunity,” said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who provided the Ruler Foods update to a meeting Thursday of the MacArthur Boulevard Association.
Ruler Foods, a discount brand of the Kroger supermarket chain, announced plans for the store in the summer of 2015, a little more than a year after opening a store at 2711 E. Sangamon Ave. The MacArthur Boulevard site was the longtime home of Esquire Theatre, which closed in 2003. The building was torn down in 2015.
McMenamin said he would like to see at least some type of landscaping on the vacant lot while the search resumes for new development. Members of the association also suggested contacting site owner Eric Hoogland, an executive with Family Video Inc., about the future of the property.
“We have a great beautification opportunity there,” said McMenamin.
Springfield commercial real-estate specialist Phil Spengler, who has marketed the site, said the Ruler Foods decision was part of larger nationwide cutbacks by parent company Kroger. The two-acre site has been listed at $950,000, and Spengler said active marketing would resume.
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Jane Ann and Jonas Petty expect to open Free Press Coffee by the end of the year in a former service station and convenience store at MacArthur and South Grand. The property north of the Esquire site most recently housed a title-loan business.
“I don’t have an exact date, but we’re moving on it,” said Jane Ann Petty.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 