Pick ’n Save stores in Wisconsin are run by Roundy’s, which is a subsidiary of Kroger. A Kroger spokesperson did not return a call for comment, but in 2024 a Roundy’s corporate affairs manager told a local Madison publication, Isthmus, that the company was planning to “continue to provide access to fresh foods at affordable prices” at the South Park Street location.
Meanwhile, Madison city officials — having already doled out millions — now own a nearby space at 815 Cedar St. that, it appears, was not built to easily house a grocery store.
The space, for instance, reportedly had insufficient electrical power and the building had a roof that won’t accommodate necessary equipment. A large bank of windows and the floor plan are also less than ideal.
The building “wasn’t built for a grocer, even though it was supposed to be,” said Kristi Maurer, the grocer who will open Maurer’s Urban Grocery in the city-owned space.
“A lot of the journey has been dealing with the building and the reality of the building,” she said.
The City of Madison bought the “condo space” for $4.6 million in 2021 from the developer of a multi-use development that includes a lot of apartments. But it also approved $3.5 million for improvements in 2023, according to media reports, and then in 2024 approved another $1 million in improvements to make the space work as a grocery store.
As part of the lease agreement with Maurer’s, the city will recoup $3.85 million in tenant improvements and that will remain an asset of the city, according to a city communications manager.
It is unclear, in the meantime, when exactly lease payments might begin.