KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers Kansas City, Missouri. She maintained contact with people who worked at the former Sun Fresh Market and reached out to them when the new store operator was announced. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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The former Sun Fresh Market at East 31st Street and Prospect Avenue will have a new name and new operator.
Kansas City, Missouri, officials announced an affiliate of Associated Wholesale Grocers will run the store, and it will be the United Market KC.
The revamped store is expected to open in mid-April.
KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson, who focuses on KCMO, got an inside look at the store a week before it closed in August.
She also stayed in touch with former store employees.
Tiara Whitley started working for Sun Fresh Market when it opened in the Linwood Shopping Center.
People in the community would call her "Sun Fresh" when they saw her. Whitley left in 2023, before the store closed.
Whitley explained why the store was special, especially for senior citizens who walked to the market for groceries.
"Some would come short," she said. "Some didn't have it (money) at the time. We were willing to give because we knew they were coming back. We treated them as family."
The city owns the Linwood Shopping Center and has invested $15 million of taxpayer dollars toward the effort to revitalize the shopping center and the neighborhood that surrounds it.
Whitley is happy another grocery store will be coming back soon. She thinks the store's former management should carry the blame for the market's lack of success.
"I do not blame the community at all," she said. "I don't blame the thieves. I don't think it was as bad as they say it was — it was the inside."
The Urban League of Kansas City, Urban Summit and Santa Fe Neighborhood Association are among the groups that have been helping the city select what they hope is the right operator.
In regular meetings involving the city manager and council members, they've discussed solutions for improving the neighborhood around the store.
Crime and illegal activity in the Prospect corridor challenged the former Sun Fresh Market's operations.
Several public safety ordinances that would target those issues in the Prospect Avenue corridor and surrounding parts of KCMO are being considered.
Among ordinances under consideration are a gas station drug ban, an amended nuisance ordinance, and restrictions on businesses selling certain alcoholic beverages like single-serving shots and beers.
"Everyone is claiming they want the store," Whitley said. "We need it ... obviously. It's gonna take everybody — security, police officers, the community itself... Everyone is gonna have to step up."
The city council will discuss the final lease and operating terms this month.
When Jackson connected with the new operator, Anthony Estrada, he said he is waiting for the lease to be finalized before taking interview requests.
However, Estrada did share this would be his first store, and he sent a statement to Jackson on his efforts to make the new store a success.
"I am honored and excited for the opportunity to operate the former Sunfresh store reopening as United Market for Kansas City. With over 30 years of experience in retail grocery store operations, I am committed to the success of this project. I pledge to humbly serve the community by offering a variety of quality products at a fair price in a safe, clean and organized environment. I will also focus our efforts on embracing the community by partnering with local churches, schools, neighborhood associations and city officials to ensure the success of the store. I truly appreciate this opportunity to serve others."
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