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Owners of Upscale Food Stores Plan New Grocery Along River Near Brewers Hill

Posted on: Saturday, 16 July 2005, 00:00 CDT

Jul. 15--A neighborhood shopping center overlooking the Milwaukee River -- a first for the city -- will be built just north of downtown, and include a specialty grocery operated by the owners of V. Richard's Market, G. Groppi Food Market and other upscale food stores.

The new grocery, to be operated by John Nehring and Anne Finch-Nehring, will be the main attraction at the $12 million development, known as Pleasant Street Market, at the northeast corner of Pleasant and Commerce streets. The 3-acre site is now a parking lot.

The food store is the first announced tenant at Pleasant Street Market, which will total about 44,000 square feet. Other prospective tenants include a restaurant and separate coffee shop, both overlooking the river, and a bank branch facing Commerce St., said Jon Thoresen of Commercial Property Associates Inc., the development's leasing agent.

The property's riverfront location is a big selling point for the Nehrings and other prospective tenants, Thoresen said. It will include a small outdoor plaza and a riverwalk, he said.

The retail center's design includes buildings constructed close to Pleasant and Commerce streets, with the parking lot in the middle of the site, said Samuel Denny, executive vice president of Brewery Works Inc., which owns Schlitz Park and is developing Pleasant Street Market.

The grocery store will have hallmarks of the Nehrings' other stores, which include three businesses in Shorewood: the upscale grocery Nehring's Sendik's on Oakland; Sommelier's Palette, a wine bar and café; and Jean-Pierre's, a bakery and café.

The new store will include an extensive selection of prepared meals and deli items, the Nehrings said, along with high-quality produce, a floral selection, seafood, meats and other items, including wine.

Customers will include people living in nearby condominiums and apartments developed on Commerce St., N. Water St. and in the Brewers Hill neighborhood, as well as other people living in or near downtown, the Nehrings said.

The store also will target downtown employees, including the roughly 4,000 people who work at the Schlitz Park office park, just south of the retail site. The store, which has not been named, will open next summer, the Nehrings said.

The 12,000-square-foot store will be small compared with most supermarkets, which average around 45,600 square feet, according to the Food Marketing Institute, a trade group. Its compact size and upscale marketing niche will help it succeed, the Nehrings said.

Supermarket industry consultant David Livingston agreed.

"As long as they have parking and good access to the street, I think they should do OK," said Livingston, who operates Pewaukee-based DJL Research.

Brewery Works owners Gary Grunau and Scott Sampson have long planned to develop the site as a retail center. The housing boom along Commerce St. and in Brewers Hill has created a strong customer base, Denny said.

A neighborhood retail center is "a perfect fit" for Commerce St., said Robert Monnat, chief operating officer at Mandel Group Inc., which developed Trostel Square, a housing community with 99 apartments and 26 condos just north of the retail site.

Thoresen expects to have about half of Pleasant Street Market's space leased within 30 days. Pending city approvals, Brewery Works hopes to begin construction this fall, Denny said.

The retail center's businesses will have an estimated 150 to 200 employees, Thoresen said. The grocery will have 75 to 90 employees, the Nehrings said, and will involve a roughly $1 million investment by the couple.

Their project was conceived several years ago, when John Nehring scouted food store locations along the Milwaukee River north of downtown. But Nehring, a former wine and specialty food buyer at Sendik's Market, 2643 N. Downer Ave., and his wife, then a Milwaukee Ballet principal dancer, instead bought the Shorewood Sendik's store, 4027 N. Oakland Ave., in 1998.

Anne Finch-Nehring later retired from the ballet, and the couple subsequently acquired other businesses, including V. Richard's, 17165 W. Blue Mound Road, Brookfield; Très Bon Catering, 21755 W. Gateway Road, Brookfield; and Groppi's, 1441 E. Russell Ave., in Milwaukee's reviving Bay View neighborhood. Operating all their business, along with overseeing a recent expansion of Groppi's, kept the Nehrings busy.

The Nehrings recently renewed their focus on the downtown area, where the continued development of new housing has attracted interest from other grocers, including Roundy's Supermarkets Inc., which last year opened the upscale Pick 'n Save Metro Market at 1123 N. Van Buren St.

With the renovation of the Groppi store complete, and an appealing site available for a new store, the couple decided the time was right to move forward on this latest project.

"Timing has a lot to do with it," John Nehring said. "And the location had everything to do with it."

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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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