Downtown grocery stores proposed

Two new grocery stores that could open in Piatt Place and PPG Place Downtown have been proposed by two local property owners.

Executives at Piatt Place and PPG Place are considering developing grocery stores in vacant city spaces within walking distance of Duquesne’s campus, according to the websites of Piatt Place and PPG Place.

Both Lucas Piatt, owner and developer of Piatt Place, and Herky Pollock, executive vice president of CBRE Pittsburgh, declined to comment.

The last time an urban grocery store was open in Downtown was 2010, when city-goers could shop at Rosebud Fine Food Market and Deli on Seventh Street. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced on March 22, 2010, that the market would be closing due to bankruptcy.

Duquesne students have said they would consider utilizing a Downtown grocery store since it would make purchasing goods more convenient.

“I think a grocery store Downtown is a really great idea,” freshman nursing major Lauren Caffrey said. “It would make things a lot easier for students living on campus here.”

Junior psychology major Heather Jones, who lived on campus both her freshman and sophomore years, did most of her grocery shopping at Trader Joe's in Shadyside and at the South Side Giant Eagle.

“I probably would have gone to a Downtown grocery store if there was one,” Jones said. “It’d be convenient for residents who want to have a greater variety of food that is actually healthy to eat in the dorm.”

Like Jones, some Duquesne residents have to walk far distances to get their groceries. The South Side Giant Eagle, located on Wharton Street near the Birmingham Bridge, is the closest supermarket to campus

The CVS on Smithfield Street, which is closer to campus, is an alternative to the Giant Eagle, but freshman communications and rhetoric studies major Mackenzie Martin said it does not satisfy students’ food needs.

“If you are buying convenient goods like shampoo and cereal, CVS gets the job done, but you can't get a lot of food there,” Martin said.

If stores open in Piatt Place and PPG Place, the grocery stores would be closer to the University than Giant Eagle and have a larger selection of food than CVS at a cheaper price.