Search continues for store tenant

It’s been a year since a trio of local business owners and friends purchased the former Central Market with a plan of bringing a second grocery store to Boulder City.

And while the search continues for that right fit, owners Bret Runion, Ed Cave and Grant Turner said the past year has been a bit of a whirlwind, especially in the early days following the announcement of their purchase.

“It was all very, very positive,” Cave said of the response. “There was a lot of excitement. I, myself, did not hear one negative comment or questions like, ‘Why would you want to do that?’ or ‘That makes no sense.’ Every single person I talked to about it was positive.”

But as time went on, Cave said the excitement and desire was still there but the questions turned more to, “Hey, when is that grocery store coming in?”

Runion said the feedback has been more than was expected. And the enthusiasm picked up again earlier this year when the three began initiating conversations with Trader Joe’s. This included a Facebook page, which garnered plenty of local interest.

“We all agreed in the beginning that our first choice would be a full-service grocery store,” Runion said. “The public constantly talks about the old meat department at Central Market. Based on that response (of a full-service grocery store) we put a lot of effort into trying to track down Trader Joe’s. We haven’t entirely ruled that out but we’d still like to see a real grocery store there.”

Following up on the Trader Joe’s discussion, Turner said, “I’d say we got as close as you can without actually getting a deal done. We absolutely put the work in. We kicked their door down and really did get on their radar. Boulder City is now on Trader Joe’s radar.”

The market portion of the building is approximately 8,500 square feet. They realize that a major facelift will be needed on the building to attract a tenant, starting with exterior windows, which the building offered prior to a fire 40 years ago. For now, they will wait to see what vision a new tenant may have before any upgrades are made by either party.

The back-up plan, according to Runion, is that if they don’t find a full-service grocer, the space is large enough to break it into two or three different tenants, as long as each was complementary to one another and were in the food industry. If that were to happen, he said top of the list would be a butcher or meat market.

“We’ve had interest for uses outside of a grocery store but we listened to the town and that’s what it really wants,” Turner said. “I truly believe that some sort of grocery store will go in.”

The building attached to the back portion of Central Market has been a handful of restaurants over the years, and is currently the Boulder City Supper Club. Conveniently, Runion and Turner purchased that portion of the building in 2020.

Despite a year having gone by, the three said they are still optimistic things will work out and that they are by no means in desperation mode and willing to accept the first tenant to sign the dotted line.

“We don’t want another business to come in and not make it,” Runion said. “That’s no good. We want something that’s the right fit for Boulder City and that will be successful.”

He said through research and assistance from the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, it was determined that within a seven-mile radius of the store, there’s roughly 35,000 people and just one grocery store, that being Albertsons. This includes residents of Henderson, primarily in the Wagon Wheel Drive area.

“We’re convinced that a store, especially Trader Joe’s, would definitely draw from Henderson,” Runion said.

Looking back

The three purchased the building from the Wayne and Helen Goble Trust. The Gobles owned and ran Central Market for decades but closed it about a dozen years ago. The store held its own against large chair grocery stores over the years, despite the aforementioned fire in 1984. It was a most recently an antiques mall.

“There is a lot of excitement knowing the new owners of the old market just might be the town heroes and bring back the hometown grocery store we’ve all been missing for many years,” Boulder City Chamber of Commerce CEO Jill Rowland Lagan said last year following the purchase. “It’s such an iconic location that will add to the quality of life for our residents as well as build on the number of guests within the historic downtown.”

For the three, bringing a second grocery store to town isn’t just about business, it’s about community pride. All three grew up here and are graduates of Boulder City High School.

“I’m really glad that I partnered with Ed and Grant on this project,” Runion said after meeting with the Review. “Although we all have a lot in common, such as our love for Boulder City, we are very different and bring different perspectives to the table. Although we take care of business, we always seem to have a certain amount of fun doing it.”