SPOKANE, Wash. — A new grocery store is opening in downtown Spokane and its owner hopes it will help revitalize the area.
The store, Downtown Grocery III, is hoping to fill the need that was left when Rite Aid closed in late 2023. It is located on West Sprague Avenue on the corner of Sprague and Stevens Street.
People living in the Ridpath Apartments are already excited about the new store opening closer to home.
Owner Sammy Kentiba said he’s already ordered produce and there will be a section for that once it arrives.
“I want to be of service to the people of Spokane and the downtown area,” he said.
Construction is also underway for a laundromat and liquor store in the same space.
“Having the laundromat will take some burden off of them instead of carrying their clothes and traveling, that’s a difficult thing,” Kentiba said.
Kentiba said he wants to keep the prices of everything in the grocery store as low as possible. He spoke with people living nearby and wanted people to be able to shop at his store without having to travel far from home.
“Not just focusing on the profit, but being of service to the people in need in this area,” Kentiba said. “That’s what made me open this place. With the low margins, people can get whatever they need and they feel good.”
He said construction of the laundromat and the liquor store will be finished in about a week. All he has to do is get the proper permits from the city to open them for business.
“Before it was like a sleeping area for people outside. It was turning into not a beautiful thing. Now, turning it into a beautiful place and making it very nice, it feels good. Even for me to walk, not as an owner but as a citizen of Spokane,” he said.
Kentiba hopes bringing his business to the downtown area will be a small step in making Spokane a better place to live and work.
“When we face problems like this, we don’t run away from it. By just persisting and believing, it will restore again and it will be a beautiful place,” he said.
Kentiba acknowledged some of the concerns people have about visiting downtown Spokane. He plans to hire a security team to protect the store and help people feel more safe.
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