Tag Archives: grocery store

Lidl cuts the ribbon on Lower Paxton Township grocery store

June 12, 2024 | by Jolie Lloyd

Lidl and local officials cut the ribbon on the new store.

A long line of shoppers waited with their carts outside a new Lower Paxton Township grocery store for its opening day on Tuesday.

That morning, Lidl, a European discount grocery store, cut the ribbon on its location at 5125 Jonestown Rd. in the Paxton Towne Centre, officially opening the store to the public.

“We cannot wait to provide Harrisburg with fresh, high quality produce at affordable prices,” said Harrisburg Store Manager Shivani Halterman, before the ribbon cutting.

Lidl, which began as a small grocery store in Germany in the 1970s, now has around 12,000 stores in over 30 countries, providing quality food at affordable prices, according to the company’s website. Locally, Lidl has locations in York, Lancaster and Reading.

Lidl carries specialty items such as imported food, hard-to-find cheeses and cured meats. A majority of the store’s food selection includes private label products, featuring organic and gluten-free options.

Lidl customers line up outside the store.

Sen. John DiSanto, President and CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber Ryan Unger, Lower Paxton Township Board Chairman Robin Lindsey and other officials attended the ribbon cutting ceremony and expressed their excitement about the store’s opening.

“It’s a great day in Harrisburg. We’re always excited when we see big brand names choose Harrisburg,” Unger said. “You couldn’t pick a better location, right here in the heart of a lot of growth areas. […] We’re excited that Lidl could be a part of it.”

Throughout opening weekend, Lidl will donate $1 to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank for each shopper who downloads the myLidl app and selects Harrisburg as their store.

Lidl is open daily, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit their website.

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Fare & Care: You’ll find specialty goods and a welcoming space at Europa Market

April 29, 2024 | by Rachel Curry

Andrei & Tabita Tugulia. Photo by Dani Fresh.

Browsing the aisles of a large chain grocery store, you may find kefir, a fermented dairy beverage from Eastern Europe.

However, you likely won’t see Rom, an iconic Romanian chocolate bar. Or kvass, a Russian non-alcoholic malt beverage. Or Ukrainian sweet cream with fruit, perfect for topping on crepes.

Luckily, there’s one place locally you will find the authentic versions of all of these—and much more—Europa Market in Linglestown. The Eastern European food hub caters to the cravings of Pennsylvania’s immigrant population, folks looking to connect with their heritage or simply adventurous eaters who want to try something new.

On top of that, Europa Market is a community center seeking to forge connections and help mothers, families and individuals in need.

Tabita and Andrei Tugulia opened Europa Market and its community-minded counterpart, Front End Family Solutions, in November, nearly two decades after their own immigration from Romania. They operate as a kind of satellite location of Reading’s Romanian Community Center, enabling people from Romania and other countries in Eastern Europe to find community and support through the many journeys of life.

The market, whose neighbor is a horse that keeps an eye out on the strip, features a mini-museum of Romanian relics at the front. Two mannequins wear traditional men’s and women’s apparel, including an ie, or Romanian embroidered blouse, and pigskin shoes. The mannequin is wearing handmade socks that Andrei grew up with as a kid. A piece of woven art made by his great-grandmother, estimated to be 150 years old, hangs on the wall.

“It was a very simple life,” Andrei reminisced. “Sometimes, I miss those days.”

Photo by Dani Fresh.

Beyond the antique items, the general store features hundreds of products, about half of which come from Romania. In the back is a community room and event space, including a play area for small children. That’s where much of the Front End Family Solutions meetups occur.

With two kids and a firmly planted life in Dauphin County, the Tugulias relish their mission of meeting people with similar backgrounds and helping those who may need guidance on getting settled in a new country. There are a wide range of people who come to Europa Market from countries like Poland, Moldova, Bulgaria, Latvia and more. Pennsylvania is also home to a plethora of Ukrainians who immigrated before and during the war, and they’re welcome to find a slice of home at Europa Market.

Tabita recalled her own journey to the United States.

“It took me six or seven years to meet anyone from my country,” she said.

She’s even met customers who have been here for decades, and it’s their first time meeting people they can culturally relate to here. So, having a place like Europa Market not only to shop but to gather filled a gap.

“They come here for produce, but it’s so much more,” she said of her visitors. “They leave us with a story.”

Photo by Dani Fresh.

Pulls People In

Mid-morning, the Tugulia’s friend, Mihai, walked into the market to shop, drink coffee and chat.

“They’re a perfect match for bringing people together,” he said.

Both Tabita and Andrei are talkative and friendly, but Andrei said that he considers himself to be shy compared to his wife’s social skills.

“My wife is the one that pulls people in,” he said.

Tabita’s background in social services helps propel the mission of the work while Andrei’s experience in managing food service businesses keeps the market running smoothly.

As for what’s popular in the market, it depends where the customer is coming from and what strikes their tastes and nostalgia.

From Romania, Gusto corn puffs, Borsec mineral water, Easter bread, Zacusca spread, meats and cheeses line the shelves. From around the Eastern European region, pickled vegetables, frozen cakes, filo pies, sunflower seeds, gingerbread (which is different from the kind of gingerbread Americans know), jams, vegetable spreads, fruit juices and a whole slew of other delicacies are at the ready.

Their current stock is just the beginning.

“Our greatest resource is our customers,” Andrei said.

In fact, they regularly take suggestions from people looking for a specific item.

Meanwhile, Front End Family Solutions operates behind the scenes, hosting a range of events like mom cafés, family nights out, international fundraisers, craft and painting gatherings and holiday events for families who need a welcoming place to celebrate. They also host birthday parties, using 10% of the proceeds to subsidize parties for children in low-income families. Meanwhile, the organization provides additional services like mentoring and small business consultancy.

In short, Tabita and Andrei have their hands full, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“At the end of the day, when we put the kids to bed, we feel like it’s our mission,” Andrei said

If they can make a difference in someone’s life each day, they say, they’re happy. And if they can do it while bringing a taste of home—wherever that may be—to the people around them, all the better.

Europa Market and Front End Family Solutions are located at 5821 Linglestown Rd., Suite 106, Harrisburg (Linglestown), in the rear of the building. For more information, visit www.myeuropamarket.com, www.frontendfamilysolutions.com and their Facebook pages.

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Food & Family: Green Ridge may have crossed the river, but the Lapp family remains committed to their products, their customers

September 28, 2023 | by Molly Pavlovich

Four days a week, David and Ruthie Lapp, and several of their six children—the lifeblood of Green Ridge Farm Market & Cafe—make the one-hour commute from the farmlands of Lancaster to their new storefront in Camp Hill.

They bring with them a deep appreciation for homegrown and homemade, passed down through generations, and fresh meats, vegetables and other fruits of their labor that keep customers coming back week after week.

“We don’t mind the drive because we know that we’re bringing people farm fresh and organic food that nourishes their bodies,” Ruthie said.

For more than a decade prior, the family sold its Green Ridge Acres Farm produce at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. However, hoping to grow their business and further cultivate their customer base, they transitioned to their new west shore location in July, which formerly housed the locally loved Healthy Grocer.

This change has given the Lapps the opportunity to expand not only in space but also in offerings.

Organic seasonal produce remains stocked on the shelves from local and trusted suppliers, along with grass-fed dairy products and meats that were raised on the Lapps’ own farm, as well as various bulk items like baking ingredients, spices and snacks. The store’s Cup of Joy Café also serves hearty soups made from scratch, hot breakfast options, sandwiches, coffee and baked goods—a little something for everyone.

“When customers visited us at the Broad Street Market, they might get one or two things from us, but they’d shop around at other vendors, too,” Ruthie said. “But now, when they come here, they want to make it worth their trip. They’re going out of their way to shop with us and support our business.”

While Ruthie says that she and her family miss their fellow market vendors, she believes investing in her customers was well worth the leap of leaving. Many loyal shoppers have followed them from the east shore to the west shore and would devotedly choose grocery shopping at Green Ridge over supermarkets any day.

“I shop here every week,” said long-time customer Mark Silver, who had a full cart from his Saturday morning trip. “It’s a completely different pace than the typical grocery store experience.”

He praised both the food quality and the “friendly faces.”

“Not only do I know much of the Lapp family by name, but they make an effort to know their customers’ names, too,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I want to keep coming back?”

Place of Joy

Still early in their new venture, the Lapps have taken it day-to-day as they sharpen their store and its inner workings. But, as days turn into months, they’re eager to explore additional avenues that will allow them to further invest in their customers and family.

One of Ruthie and David’s sons recently bought a farm in Northumberland, and they hope to add a familial touchpoint by selling their produce at the market once it’s plentiful. Ruthie also sees potential in targeting new customers in other counties, even nearby metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C., which are close enough that an occasional trip to pick up an online order might be doable.

“Perhaps we’ll even have a farm day at some point, where we invite customers to our farm in Lancaster,” Ruthie said. “Children could gather eggs and families could get a closer look at country living—see where some of the items we sell come from.”

Customers like Silver are excited to watch the business grow and evolve too, from a stand at the Broad Street Market to whatever the future holds.

“I want to see them thrive, and I hope it remains something they enjoy doing together as a family,” Silver said. “When you walk into their store, it’s hard to deny that what they do comes from a place of joy.”

Green Ridge Farm Market & Café is located at 3800 Trindle Rd., Camp Hill. For more information, visit www.greenridgeacres.com.

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Trader Joe’s opens in Camp Hill, customers come in droves to shop for unique products

March 31, 2022 | by Maddie Gittens

Trader Joe’s on opening day, Thursday.

On Thursday morning, 100-year-old Bess Gorelick, strolled into the just-opened Trader Joe’s in Camp Hill.

Gorelick was the first customer to enter, preceding the line of eager shoppers that wrapped around the building at 8 a.m. on the grocery store’s opening day.

“I love Trader Joe’s,” she said. “They have products that they don’t have anywhere else.”

The 12,550-square-foot store is the first Trader Joe’s in the area and the ninth in Pennsylvania. Nationwide, it has over 500 stores in 42 states. It’s known for its unique, quality food products at affordable prices.

At the opening, store captain Jamie Brown welcomed customers into the store, along with a team of Hawaiian shirt-sporting staff members.

“We are super excited to have you all here,” he said.

Since last June, when the store announced it would be coming to the Lower Allen Commons, fans of the franchise were anticipating its arrival.

Customers shop inside Trader Joe’s

For New Cumberland resident Heather Keller, visiting Trader Joe’s before meant taking road trips to different locations. It was something she and her stepmom did together, before she passed away last year.

“She would’ve loved to have one so close,” Keller said. “It’s nice that it’s a little more convenient now, but probably not good for my wallet.”

Keller’s go-to items are the miso soup, mini chicken wontons and the dunker cookies, although she said she could make a long list of favorites.

Inside Trader Joe’s

Other popular Trader Joe’s products include their signature chocolate hazelnut biscotti, kettle cooked chicken soup and “five-buck Chuck.”

Inside, the store features artwork with familiar images to central PA. There is the Market Street Bridge, white-tailed deer, a Nittany lion and even the sign from Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market.

According to the store, it will also participate in the company’s Neighborhood Shares Program, meaning it will donate unsold products to nonprofit, community-based organizations.

Trader Joe’s is located at 3545 Gettysburg Rd., Camp Hill. Store hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, visit www.traderjoes.com.

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New family-owned grocery store in Uptown Harrisburg offers fresh food to the community

October 25, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

Camila Contreras, Ramon Contreras and Yamelyn Vargas (from left) in Market Fresh

A rainbow of apples, bananas, pineapples, blueberries, mangos and oranges filling crates and baskets will easily catch shoppers’ eyes when they walk inside.

And those are just the fruit options.

At Market Fresh, a brand new grocery store on N. 6^th Street in Harrisburg, the name says it all—it’s fresh.

“This area didn’t have a lot of fresh vegetable and fruit options. We wanted to supply that for the community,” said Camila Contreras, who runs the store along with her father Ramon Contreras and his wife Yamelyn Vargas.

Ramon, originally from the Dominican Republic, isn’t new to the grocery industry. He’s owned a handful of corner stores along the east coast over the past 30 years. But Market Fresh, he said, is his biggest store yet.

After conducting a market study, Camila said that the family settled on their Uptown location, noticing the need for a grocery store in the neighborhood.

“We realized everything was really far away,” she said. “He [Ramon] saw it as an opportunity to grow and help the community out.”

Market Fresh officially opened on Friday with a great turnout, Camila said. On Monday morning, customers strolled in, scoping out the shop. Some purchased freshly sliced meats and cheese from the deli counter and filled plastic sacks with veggies.

Produce at Market Fresh

“It’s very pleasant and very clean,” said Harrisburg resident Ann Snipes on her first trip to the shop. “This is something the community needs. The Dollar Store isn’t giving you fresh food.”

In addition to the fresh meats and produce, the store has aisles full of frozen and packaged items. A row of freezers chill frozen fruit, waffles, ice cream, vegetables and frozen meals. There are English muffins, bagels, sliced bread and over 10 different kinds of peanut butter. There’s cereal, pasta, baking items, household and paper products, coffee and tea, pet food and baby food.

Camila also pointed out the large number of Goya and other Latino cuisine products.

“Because the area is really mixed [culturally], we tried to supply food that catered to everyone in the community,” Vargas said.

Ramon said that he plans to feel out what the community would like to see at Market Fresh and is open to taking suggestions from customers.

“It may take awhile to figure out what items people like,” he said. “I hope the community supports me.”

Market Fresh on N. 6th Street

Ramon learned to do business from his parents’ example, he said. They came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in the 1990s and opened a corner store. Ramon learned the family trade and began following in their footsteps.

Now, his daughter Camila is doing the same, helping her father and stepmother run Market Fresh while she finishes her last year of college, studying business management.

It took the family two years to transform their space on N. 6^th Street into what it is today, as the pandemic delayed its opening. Ramon is proud of his new shop. He sees how far he’s come over the last 30 years of business.

“I’m really happy,” he said. “Now that I see it done, I feel great. My hope is to offer the best services and quality to the community.”

Market Fresh is located at 2446 N. 6^th St., Harrisburg. It is open on Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit their website.

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How Green Is My Grocer?: At Radish & Rye—very green. Very local, too

March 31, 2021 | by Norah Griffiths Johnson

Dusty and Julia James

Lately, it seems as if every time I walk along 3rd Street in Harrisburg, a new business, restaurant or shop has opened.

It’s thrilling to see and carries with it a feeling of momentum and hope. From a historical perspective, too, it feels more than fitting, given that many decades ago this street was home to a vibrant shopping district.

Amid the last days of February, Radish & Rye Food Hub became a welcome addition to this streetscape of entrepreneurial spirit and community pride. The shop, located on the 1300-block of N. 3rd, is an all-local grocer that exclusively carries foods from producers and farmers within a 150-mile radius of Harrisburg.

The business is a labor of love for Midtown residents Dusty and Julia James, who opened their store five years ago in the Broad Street Market before migrating across the street into their own brick-and-mortar.

“We’re not a supermarket, but more of a green grocer,” explained Dusty, of their approach.

There are numerous reasons behind Radish and Rye’s all-local focus, but environmental, economic and culinary get top billing.

When you step inside the store, you find yourself in a bright, welcoming space. Shelves full of pantry items stand at the ready, and sleek cases line the walls, filled with milk, artisanal cheeses, meats and fresh vegetables. Baskets of fresh bread sit atop a table, and the aroma of locally roasted coffee floats subtly in the air.

Thanks to a fully equipped commercial kitchen, prepared foods are an exciting addition to Radish & Rye’s offerings in the new space. Currently, they offer housemade stocks, soups and hummus, but have plans to expand this to include prepared meals.

“One of our goals is to offer food in every state of preparedness,” Dusty noted. “We want to help address the fallacy that only people who can cook from scratch every night can shop at a store like Radish & Rye.”

The Pivot

So, why the decision to scale up from a market stand to a brick-and-mortar store?

As Radish & Rye’s market stand grew, so did demand.

“Eventually, it felt like an obvious thing to do,” Julia said. “One of the things we have always loved most about the business is being part of the community. We loved what we were doing. We had energy around it, there was a clear need in the community, and the farmers and producers had the product.”

So in 2017, the couple purchased the property that now houses their store. They developed a plan and gathered funding, but a few, rather significant bumps extended their timeline—namely, unexpected construction issues coupled with, well, a global pandemic.

In March 2020, instead of planning for a grand opening, Dusty and Julia executed a rather masterful pivot to online fulfillment, contactless pickup, and seven-day-a-week hours of operation. Eventually, they dialed it back to a modest six—Tuesday through Sunday.

“It went pretty suddenly from ‘maybe this is something we should be considering’ to ‘this is something we have to do,’ and so we just did it,” Julia said, explaining their quick transition to creating an online ordering platform. “It took about a week straight of no sleep.”

All the Boxes

This journey from market stand to storefront typifies the kind of people behind Radish & Rye.

Dusty and Julia have long been committed to providing an extensive, reliable, humane and nutritious food source for the community. Even amid a pandemic and numerous business challenges, they proved themselves to be people who do not run from a challenge or resist creating a solution when they can provide one.

For another perspective, I spoke with Gary and Kali Tennis, Radish & Rye customers and Midtown Harrisburg residents who moved here in 2012. The couple spoke about their deep appreciation for Radish & Rye and the role it plays in their adopted hometown.

“If you care about climate change, responsible, sustainable agriculture and healthy eating, Radish & Rye checks all the boxes,” Gary explained. “I often describe them as a local grocer, and they really are.”

Kali emphasized their community focus.

“You get so much more than just food there,” she said. “It really is a community-binding force.”

So what does it mean to have gotten to this point?

“I feel really proud, in a lot of ways, for what we’ve been able to accomplish, but also so grateful,” Dusty said. “From grant money to the sweat equity and financial support of friends and family—the support from every part of our community and our customers has been amazing and kept us going when things were really hard.”

Julia also emphasized that the opening of the store went beyond just the two of them.

“Our team deserves a huge shout-out, too,” she said. “As much as Dusty and I have been working on this, there’s still so much that they do to keep things running. They’re doing such a great job.”

When people talk about what makes Harrisburg special, Radish & Rye is an example of how a community is a reflection of the people who inhabit it.

Radish & Rye Food Hub is located at 1308 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information and online ordering, visit www.radishandryehbg.com.

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Bulk Joy: New downtown grocer offers value, convenience, one item at a time.

October 31, 2017 | by Norah Griffiths Johnson

Provisions owners Adam Porter and Shaun Donovan

Picture yourself lovingly grinding your own peanut butter on one of the major streets in downtown Harrisburg.

Not on the actual street, mind you, but in Provisions, the just-opened, 2,000-plus-square-foot grocery store on the 3rd Street side of Strawberry Square. Sound far-fetched, or even a little nutty? Think again.

Make your own nut butter is just one of the many offerings available at Provisions, the brainchild of Shaun Donovan and Adam Porter. The two met several years ago through the Harrisburg Regional Chamber, but the idea for a brick-and-mortar grocery store coalesced as Porter helped Donovan set up a website for his online business, Appalachian Organics, which specializes in natural and organic health and beauty products, as well as food, household staples and even an extensive gluten-free section.

Once the pair teamed up to create Provisions, they focused on developing a viable business plan. While they knew they wanted to open the store in downtown or Midtown Harrisburg, finding a location that offered sufficient space at an affordable price turned out to be one of the biggest challenges. Aligning funding proved to be another hurdle.

“It was a process,” Donovan admits, laughing softly.

Ultimately, it came down to being able to articulate to potential funders the “why” in their business plan.

“Being able to tell a community story and how it’s going to benefit the neighborhood—that was really important,” says Donovan.

The two utilized a range of resources to help ensure they were considering every detail, including the Small Business Development Center out of Kutztown and owners of similarly structured stores in Denver, Colo., and Austin, Texas.

Speaking of the business model, one of the most interesting characteristics of Provisions is that it doesn’t mirror your average grocery store. Though customers can expect to find all the usual culinary and household staples, 75 percent of the store’s footprint is dedicated to bulk food offerings. When people hear “bulk,” many think of value-focused warehouse stores like Sam’s Club or Costco.

“Think, the candy aisle, not Costco,” Porter clarifies, chuckling.

Rather than shelves, customers discover gravity bins and containers with scoops. If you like, you can even bring your own containers, though some are available in-store for purchase, should you have lost the inevitable two or three lids from your extensive Tupperware collection. Dairy, produce and meat comprise the other 25 percent through local and PA-based producers like Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg and Four Seasons Produce out of Lancaster County.

The reason for this non-traditional model? Porter and Donovan aim to hit an eventual zero-waste mark.

“The amount of waste created from food packaging is appalling,” Porter notes.

From a financial standpoint, they explain, packaging drastically increases the cost of food. In fact, depending on what products a customer buys, Donovan estimates that they can save anywhere from 30 to 60 percent on their weekly grocery bill. When you remove added costs like packaging and transport, natural and organic products—which tend to skew slightly higher in price—become much more affordable. In addition to the environmental aspect, the two cite an overarching goal to bring affordable, healthy food to downtown Harrisburg.

The intended Provisions customer base is within a 10-minute radius (by foot).

“If you need two cups of flour, you can buy just two cups of flour,” Porter explains, another bonus of the bulk model. “If the in-laws show up, or friends come over, or even if you travel a lot for work and only need breakfast for tomorrow morning.”

For those who work downtown but are not city residents, Porter and Donovan believe they can help these people save a considerable amount of time. They point out that, by shopping over the lunch hour or right after work, customers can alleviate the additional half-hour-plus required to drive to and shop at a traditional, suburban grocery store on their way home from work.

An added bonus: Customers can draw upon Appalachian Organics’ existing online system and network of vendors to access more products and varying quantities. So, if you want to buy an entire box of paper towels rather than just one or two, you can purchase it in-store and have it shipped to your house, or order it online and pick it up on site.

Going forward, Porter and Donovan intend to offer a variety of in-store events, demos, “meet the farmer” days, product samplings and cooking tutorials. They’ll also partner with local chefs to produce recipe cards highlighting ingredients featured in the store so that customers can learn about healthy cooking practices and glean new ideas for seasonal ingredients or those that are a tad less common (e.g. amaranth flour).

The pair’s enthusiasm for Provisions is apparent, but both turn coy when pressed on what foods they’re most excited to offer. Finally, Porter relents.

“I’m excited to carry stuff that I don’t even know what it is yet,” he says.

He speaks of culinary school and time spent as a chef as the underpinnings to this passion.

“I love learning about various cultures,” he says. “There’s a whole world of food out there, and I’m excited to dive in and share it with people.”

Provisions is located at 15-17 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 717-236-5700 or visit provisionshbg.com.

July News Digest

July 31, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Housing Funds Disbursed
Harrisburg City Council doled out some $1.9 million in federal housing funds last month, but not before making tweaks to the administration’s proposal.

Council provided $25,000 to the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center from the city’s portion of annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city administration had denied funding for the center, saying its application scored too low to merit a grant.

To make room for the Heinz-Menaker grant, $15,000 was taken from a proposed allocation for the city’s Police Bureau, which still will receive $90,000 to help pay for a new community policing van and a police cadet program.

Another $10,000 was taken from the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development, which still will receive about $43,000 to cover unreimbursed costs related to the sinkhole project on S. 14th Street.

Like last year, the greatest single amount of money, $562,248, went to repay federal loans the city backed during the Reed administration for several development projects, including the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project.

Other CDBG recipients included:

City Housing Rehabilitation Programs: $330,000
Tri-County HDC: $150,000
City Emergency Demolition: $120,000
Harrisburg Fire Bureau: $51,686
Habitat for Humanity Greater Harrisburg Area: $30,000
Rebuilding Together: $15,000
Christian Aftercare Recovery Ministries: $25,000
A Miracle 4 Sure: $25,000
Latino Hispanic American Community Center: $25,000
Fair Housing Council: $25,000
Mid Penn Legal Services: $15,000
Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $3,900

While the city undertook the annual process of distributing CDBG money, funding is not assured as the Trump administration has threatened to end the program.

Riot Gear Debated

Harrisburg City Council last month left for summer break without voting on a plan that would supply the city’s police with new protective gear.

Council members said they would take up the matter once more after they returned from hiatus in late August and, in the interim, urged police to engage with residents to discuss the issue.

The Police Bureau is seeking to transfer $65,000 from unspent personnel funds to purchase 30 “top to toe” protective suits. The bureau’s current gear is old and inadequate, police say.

Some city residents have urged council not to approve the transfer, saying that so-called “riot suits” would escalate tense situations. Police, though, say that protests, particularly at the state Capitol, have become more frequent and more violent, and that officers need the equipment for personal protection.

College Plans Move to City Hall

Eastern University announced last month that it would like to move its satellite campus into the basement of Harrisburg city hall.

“I want to be in the city,” said Wesley Bunting, an official with the St. Davids, Pa.-based Christian college, whose satellite campus currently is located in Lower Paxton Township.

Therefore, the university approached the city with a novel offer. It would spend about $615,000 to fully renovate the mostly empty, worn-out basement of the MLK Jr. City Government Center on N. 2nd Street.

The city would be able to use a portion of the space for a new, state-of-the-art emergency operations center. It also would get access to classroom space when not in use and to the lounge, which could be used as a break room. The city would receive the improvements but no monetary rent during the 10-year lease term.

If approved by council, the project could start immediately and would take less than a year to complete, Bunting said.

“This is a substantial investment in the building with resources that we otherwise would have to draw from somewhere else,” Mayor Eric Papenfuse said.

Papenfuse said the project also would bring more people downtown, would boost building security, especially after hours, would offer technology upgrades in the building and would help create a “critical mass” of colleges downtown, adding to the existing presence of Harrisburg University, Temple University and Messiah College.

HDID Seeks Renewal

The Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District last month asked City Council for a five-year reauthorization, a plan that would expand the district to State Street.

Executive Director Todd Vander Woude outlined a few recent activities by the group, including last year’s “Dino-Mite Summer” public art project, this year’s “Discover the Ducks Downtown,” the St. Patrick’s Day parade, several new murals, more bike racks, brightly painted planters and a new safety substation.

“Our focus is making downtown clean, safe and beautiful,” said Vander Woude, who received a generally positive reaction from council.

In 2015, council refused to grant a full, five-year term, offering only two years with instructions to become more visible and active. Back then, some council members said that HDID wasn’t doing enough to attract people downtown.

Getting firm council support is particularly important this year, as the HDID is seeking to expand its northern boundary from Pine Street to State Street, bringing 58 more properties into the district and upping the organization’s annual budget by $40,000 to $820,000. Each commercial property is assessed a 1.75 mil surcharge on its city property taxes to cover the cost of HDID services, which also include cleaning, safety and beautification measures.

Property owners within the proposed district have 45 days from last month’s council hearing to vote against the district. Forty percent of properties within the boundary must vote against it for reauthorization to be defeated.

City Payment Restored

Harrisburg will receive its full state funding after all, as the legislature passed a budget re-inserting a $5 million payment to the city.

The $32 billion state budget for 2017-18 includes full funding of the “Capitol fire protection” line item, a type of payment in lieu of taxes that the city counts on to help fund emergency services.

Gov. Tom Wolf included the payment in his proposed budget in February, but it was later stripped out by the state Senate.

Over the decades, this annual payment has ranged widely from nothing to the current $5 million, an amount decided upon while the city was under state receivership. However, the money is not guaranteed, meaning that Harrisburg isn’t certain it will receive the funds until the always-fraught state budget is passed.

The money lands in the city’s general fund, but Harrisburg officials say it offers compensation for services that the city provides to about 30,000 state workers. The state pays no property taxes on its massive holdings in the city, which include some 50 state-owned buildings on about 42 percent of the city’s land.

New Grocery Store

If you’ve been hungering for an urban-style grocery store in Harrisburg, your wait is almost over.

In a few months, Provisions will open in Strawberry Square, emphasizing natural, organic and locally produced goods, mostly sold in bulk.

Provisions will occupy 2,350 square feet of space next to Fresa Bistro with a storefront entrance on N. 3rd Street, said Brad Jones, CEO of Harristown Enterprises, which owns Strawberry Square.

“You’re going to be able to get fresh food that you can shop daily for,” said Jones, who described the market as a “locally grown Trader Joe’s.”

Jones expects the build-out of the space to begin immediately, with the store opening in mid-October.

Provisions is the brainchild of Shaun Donovan, the owner of the online grocery store Appalachian Organics, and Adam Porter, co-owner of the co-working space, StartUp Harrisburg.

Steelton Redevelopment

A new development called Renaissance Row soon will begin to rise in downtown Steelton, in part thanks to a tax incentive program.

Dauphin County and Steelton officials last month credited property tax abatement for enabling the project, which will feature 80,000 square feet of commercial space and 46 one-and two-bedroom apartments across the street from Steelton Borough Hall.

“Providing property tax relief for new construction and renovation can make the difference between making it viable to move forward on a project,’’ said county board Chairman Jeff Haste.

Philadelphia-based developer Chariot Companies will build Renaissance Row. A second development featuring 12 new townhouses on Adams Street should break ground later this year.

All of Steelton is part of a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program, which provides tax breaks on property improvements for 10 years.

Home Sales Climb

The Harrisburg area scored another solid month for home sales, as purchases increased 4.2 percent year over year.

The Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors reported 1,147 sales in June compared to 1,101 sales in June 2016 for its coverage area, which covers all of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.

The median price also rose, increasing to $183,000 versus $175,000 in the year-ago period, GHAR said.

In Dauphin County, 389 homes sold, an increase of 23 units, with the median price rising to $163,500 from $160,000. In Cumberland County, sales totaled 398 units versus 388, with the median price jumping to $210,000 from $190,900.

Perry County had 51 home sales against 33, with the median price rising to $143,000 from $129,900 a year earlier.

So Noted

Fine Wine and Good Spirits will open an 11,500-square-foot retail store at the Capital City Mall this fall, according to mall owner PREIT. Next year, a Dave & Busters also will open, offering a casual dining and entertainment option.

Harrisburg University is relocating its Philadelphia campus, which will more than quadruple its space. The new site at 1500 Spring Garden St. in Center City will allow the university to offer full, four-year bachelor degrees at the campus without students needing to transfer to the main campus in Harrisburg.

Merit is the new name of the Harrisburg-based marketing and innovation firm, Sacunas. The company, founded by Nancy Sacunas, said it changed its name to better reflect its mission under now-owner Adam Vasquez.

Mom’s Tamales & Papusas is expected to open this month at 263 Reily St., across from Midtown Cinema. Owner Josue Osorto, a veteran of many Harrisburg restaurants, will run the eatery specializing in food from El Salvador.

PinnacleHealth has completed the acquisition of four hospitals in three surrounding counties. The Harrisburg-based company bought Carlisle Regional Medical Center, Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center, Lancaster Regional Medical Center and Memorial Hospital of York.

Rite Aid and Walgreens have dropped their plans to merge. Instead, Walgreens will buy 2,186 Rite Aid stores for $5.2 billion, leaving East Pennsboro Township-based Rite Aid with 2,350 stores after the deal is complete.

In Memoriam

Robert Marquette, long-time president and CEO of Members 1st Federal Credit Union, died last month, said the Mechanicsburg-based company. Marquette, 68, also was the face of the Members 1st, donning a superhero-type outfit and making homespun pitches during numerous advertisements.

Benjamin Olewine III, lifelong Harrisburg resident, businessman and philanthropist, has died at the age of 95. Olewine grew his family’s food business into one of the top food distributors in the country, selling it in 1988 to giant Sysco Corp., where he continued to work until a few years ago.

Changing Hands

Allison Ct., 7: B. Schaeffer to Flipside Home Renewal LLC, $32,000

Barkley Lane, 2503: F. Scott to L. Holloway, $62,500

Bellevue Rd., 2026: M&N Associates LLC to N. & S. Diehl, $70,000

Berryhill St., 1621: G. Campos to B. Brown, $30,000

Capitol St., 901: G. Ulrich to C. Lenz Jr., $117,900

Capitol St., 1003, 414 Forster St. and 919 & 923 N. 2nd St.: PLM Real Estate Investments & M. Stuski to AON LLC, $265,000

Chestnut St., 1822: G. Neff to A. Brown, $43,900

Derry St., 1408: M. Neidigh to J. & D. Judge, $30,000

Derry St., 2334: R. Miller & D. Shellenhamer to N. Hanna, $35,000

Derry St., 2400: J. Seibert to 2400 Derry Street LLC, $65,000

Edgewood Rd., 2315: R. Everngam Jr. & D. Bottini to I. & A. MacFarlane, $204,900

Fulton St., 1418: Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC to PA Deals LLC, $61,960

Fulton St., 1733: J. & R. Gregoire to M. Shelleman, $121,000

Grand St., 919: L. Bolan to A. Chen, $114,900

Green St., 1809: M. & R. Monticchio to D. Caley, $140,000

Harris St., 342: Keystone Properties Group LLC to D. Shelley, $89,000

Herr St., 211: M. Rudderow to G. Broome, $119,900

Herr St., 259: B. Eppley to J., J., & P. Millner, $150,000

Holly St., 1946: M. Naranjo to A. Mercado, $105,500

Hudson St., 1106: J. Raab to K. Fernandez, $60,000

Hudson St., 1215: A. Powers to PI Capital LLC, $33,500

Kelker St., 231: A. DeHoff to D. Rubenstein, $174,900

Lewis St., 303: E. Gadsen to E. Torres, $124,000

Market St., 810, 812 & 900; 24 & 26 N. 10thSt.; and 12, 21 & 23 N. 9th St.: Patriot News Co. to 812 Market Street LLC & Twenty Lake Holdings, $644,286

Market St., 1848: Kusic Financial Services to E. Lewis, $37,100

Muench St., 212: K. & K. Warner to C. Kim, $169,900

Mulberry St., 1162: Stoute Housing Inc. to Evidence Group LLC, $73,000

N. 2nd St., 1225: M. & L. Day to S. Shaffer, $125,000

N. 2nd St., 2011: M. Patterson to S. Gallagher & C. Prestia, $139,000

N. 2nd St., 2915: K. & K. Russell to L. Whitcomb & M. Quinn, $315,000

N. 2nd St., 3004: S. Jusufovic to L. Bolan, $219,000

N. 3rd St., 1722: M. Kravanis Jr. & N. Melton to A. Glickman, $112,000

N. 3rd St., 1728: Leonard J. Dobson Family Limited Partnership to Keystone Brothers Investments, $106,000

N. 3rd St., 1730: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development and Information Systems & Networks Corp. to S. Bernhard, $72,000

N. 3rd St., 1928: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to J. Hobbs, $70,000

N. 6th St., 3107: E. Willis to S. & K. Wright, $99,500

N. 6th St., 3136: M. Naranjo to L. Seay, $55,000

N. 12th St., 47: Hobbeze Inc. to E&K Homes LLC, $35,000

N. 16th St., 521: D. Taylor to Wells Fargo Bank NA, $38,262

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 413: H. Michels to J. Becker, $93,900

N. Front St., 2201, 2225 & 2229; and 2200, 2214, 2216 & 2218 N. 2nd St.: 2201 Partners LP to 2201 NFS LLC, $1,800,000

Penn St., 1805: L. Urban to T. & K. Hand, $93,000

Penn St., 1933: WCI Partners LP to D. Ranson, $139,900

Rudy Rd., 2145: M. & K. DeRosa to G. Broadnax, $178,000

Rudy Rd., 2409: N. Ishman to W. & A. Krahn, $149,900

Rumson Dr., 2843: N. & I. Nanov to C. Rojas, $35,000

S. 13th St., 340: JKC Properties LLC to Round Rock Investments LLC,, $101,000

S. 17th St., 927: M. Maniari & Z. Erroudi to A. Mejia, $89,900

S. 18th St., 1128: J. Buzby to T. Ro & J. Musa, $95,000

Verbeke St., 116: H. Reynolds to M. Zecharya & B. Macavoy, $30,000

Verbeke St., 215: J. & S. Bircher to J. & & E. High, $215,000

Verbeke St., 235: S. Will to A. & C. Maset, $146,000

Author: Lawrance Binda

Bulk Up: New grocery store planned for downtown Harrisburg.

July 11, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Soon, this storefront will house Provisions, a new grocery store.

If you’ve been hungering for an urban-style grocery store in Harrisburg, here’s some very good news—your wait is almost over.

In a few months, Provisions will open in Strawberry Square, emphasizing natural, organic and locally produced goods, mostly sold in bulk.

Provisions will occupy 2,350 square feet of space next to Fresa Bistro with a storefront entrance on N. 3^rd Street, said Brad Jones, CEO of Harristown Enterprises, which owns Strawberry Square.

“You’re going to be able to get fresh food that you can shop daily for,” said Jones, who described the market as a “locally grown Trader Joe’s.”

Jones expects the build-out of the space to begin immediately, with the store opening in mid-October.

Provisions is the brainchild of Shaun Donovan, the owner of the online grocery store Appalachian Organics, and Adam Porter, co-owner of the co-working space Startup Harrisburg.

Porter said that the pair met several years ago through mutual friend and fellow Harrisburg entrepreneur, Adam Brackbill.

“I said to [Donovan] one day, ‘I need a car just to feed myself,’ and down this path, we went,” Porter said, explaining how the idea began.

After searching for potential sites, the pair decided on N. 3^rd between Market and Walnut streets due to the rapid development of downtown apartments in recent years, as well as an influx of state workers into Strawberry Square.

“We chose to locate our new store in Strawberry Square to be a part of the growing community that has been developing here,” Donovan said. “The strategic location, within a short walking distance of transit centers and the developing residential sector, make the store very accessible.”

The future Provisions, from inside Strawberry Square.

Provisions will make the most of its relatively snug space by selling most items in bulk, thereby eliminating bulky, wasteful packaging. This strategy also will keep costs down, so that items should sell at an affordable price, Porter said. In addition, customers can measure out exactly how much of an item they need, reducing waste.

“We can put items on the shelf in a concise way,” Porter said. “So, we don’t need as much square footage in the store.”

Some items, like meats, cheeses and dairy products, will be sold in more conventional packaging. The store also will carry items like cleaning supplies, locally roasted coffee, fresh-made baked goods and locally sourced produce.

“We’re going to use as many local vendors as we can,” Porter said. “We may not have quite as wide a variety as a supermarket, but it will still be a robust selection.”

He added that Provisions is intended for a local shopper—a resident or worker—who wants fresh items and, therefore, will patronize the store more often than one might visit a supermarket, perhaps several times a week.

“Our primary customer is someone within a 10-minute walk,” Porter said.

He said that he wouldn’t be surprised to get some suburban shoppers, who might be attracted to the unique items and shopping experience. To that end, he and Donovan plan to promote Park Harrisburg’s reduced-rate street parking, which includes free parking on Sundays, four hours of free parking on Saturdays using an online code and reduced prices weekdays between 5 and 7 p.m.

If the concept is successful, Porter envisions Provisions expanding, with smaller-format stores in more neighborhoods in Harrisburg. That would contrast sharply with the current model of downscale corner stores in the city and sprawling supermarkets in the suburbs.

“People always ask me, ‘What about a grocery store?’ when you talk about a downtown renaissance,” Jones said. “Now, you’re going to be able to get fresh food you can shop daily for.”

ProvisionsHBG will be located at 15-17 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg, also accessible from inside Strawberry Square. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) is ProvisionsHBG. A website will be located at www.provisionshbg.com.

Author: Lawrance Binda

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