To all those who are impatiently waiting for Trader Joe’s to open in Charlottesville and had once hoped it would locate downtown, don’t despair. Market Street Market, a grocery store and deli (and near palindrome), is getting closer and closer to its opening in September.
Owner Steve Strumlauf, a sculptor, and his son looked for place to open a business, and “it just so happened that this space was available,” he says of the space on the corner between Fourth and Market streets.
“Downtown needs a grocery store,” he says.
The deli will offer New York style cold cuts with roast beef and pastrami sandwiches, among others, for lunch and entrees for dinner. The store will offer fresh meats, fresh produce and fine cheeses (local food as much as possible, he says).
“I want to make it special,” he says. “I want to give people what the neighborhood wants.”
And the response has been “overwhelmingly positive.” Every day, he says, 20 to 30 people stop by and “say thank you."
Although Strumlauf says he likes the fact that people can walk to the store, a deal has been made with the parking structure at the end of the Mall. “People can park there and get a stamp when they buy here,” he says.