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Loma Bonita Market in works for old Richfield Rainbow Foods
The new grocery store is a sign of some changes that are coming to the long-time strip mall and surrounding commercial area. Richfield city officials say the old Rainbow Foods at The Hub will become a Loma Bonita Market.
RICHFIELD, Minn. (FOX 9) - The old Rainbow Foods in Richfield has been vacant since 2018. Loma Bonita Market will open in the space in the next few weeks.
The new grocery store is a sign of some changes that are coming to the long-time strip mall and surrounding commercial area.
Creative uses for old spaces
What we know:
They say everything old is new again.
A former grocery store at The Hub has been empty for the last seven years, but it will be a supermarket again in the next few weeks.
"I'm really excited about it. I've been on the council for five years. I hear from people continuously they want more grocery options, particularly an interest in seeing something new in a space that's been vacant for a number of years now," said Richfield City Councilmember for Ward 2, Sean Hayford Oleary.
‘I’m really excited about it’
The backstory:
Richfield city officials say the old Rainbow Foods at The Hub will become a Loma Bonita Market.
The locally owned Mexican grocery chain has four locations around the metro, but with more than 50,000 square feet, its newest store will be its largest with a bakery, butcher shop, taqueria and tortilleria, which will make fresh tortillas every day.
"So there's so much excitement for this super mercado. And they're doing just a lovely job of improving the facade and hoping to bring some vitality to vibrancy and vitality to an area that's been vacant since 2018," said Jan Youngquist, Richfield's Economic Development Manager.
City officials say Loma Bonita will join a half dozen ethnic restaurants that have opened within a two-block area of The Hub over the last two years. They say the new businesses reflect the changing face of the first ring suburb, where about 60% of residents are white, 20% are LatinX, 10% are Black and 10% are Asian.
"It's great to see businesses coming in that are representative of our demographics of Richfield. So there are options for everyone, and folks can try new things that they may not have been familiar with," said Youngquist.
Welcoming with open arms
What they're saying:
City officials hope Loma Bonita will bring more people to the hub so they can see all that Richfield has to offer.
"We have a lot of amenities here. So not having this dead space, having this be a lively destination people are going to regularly enjoy will really help stitch the area together," said Hayford Oleary.