“It may be the start of something very positive,” according to Niagara Falls Council Chairman Andrew Touma Wednesday night after a public forum attracted an enthusiastic crowd of at least 100 people about the possibility of bringing in a discount grocery store to the Highland Avenue neighborhood.
Sponsored by the Highland Community Revitalization Committee at the Doris Jones Family Resource Center on Ninth St., the presentation by Robert Guenther, owner of Super Price Choppers on Genesee St. in Buffalo was,according to Touma, well received .
Touma said the discount grocery store could be opened within a year if all goes well, and added that Guenther said he would hire 40 full-time workers and five managers to work the business, and use local labor for construction, also pledging to hire locally for the new jobs.
The forum was put together by Renee Matthews, executive director of the committee, citing the Niagara Falls 2009 Master Plan which identified the need for grocery outlets in the Highland area.
On its website, Super Price Choppers says its Buffalo business has been growing in popularity over the last six years “largely due to the overwhelming popularity of our meats. Our meat department has trustworthy, long-time employees, concerned only with customer service.”
The Highland Community Revitalization Committee (HCRC) describes itself as a non-profit, charitable organization of concerned citizens and residents seeking to serve as a catalyst for the resurgence and redevelopment of the Highland Community.
