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Sun Fresh Market at Linwood and Prospect closes despite receiving millions in public funding

VySky

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But Mamdani thinks his stores somehow will survive?

What is unique about his plan that will separate his stores from the plight the Kansas City store suffered?

He must promote a different type of socialism than that of KC who despite 29 million in tax payer funding, the store couldn't remain solvent.

Imagine, they could have called in the mastermind Mamdani and had him consult them on just what they needed to do to remain open.

Missed opportunity!

So what's his plan? How will his stores survive?

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

"The Sun Fresh Market at Linwood Boulevard and Prospect Avenue has closed after years of financial struggles, despite receiving nearly $29 million in taxpayer funding.

KMBC reported late last month the nonprofit store was having difficulty keeping shelves stocked with fresh products. On Tuesday, a tarp covered the front door and the store’s sign was blacked out.

“All of a sudden, you rolled out here this morning and they’ve gone and they saying they’re not coming back,” said customer Tery Savage-El. “It’s very disturbing, very inconvenient for our neighborhood.”

Savage-El said the store was a key resource.

“It’s sad. Let’s just put it this way....it’s sad for our neighborhood,” he said. “I’d like to know what could be done maybe to bring it back.”




“It was actually something that the community needed,” he said. “I definitely would have liked to seen it last a little longer.”

Sun Fresh Market at Linwood and Prospect closes despite receiving millions in public funding

The Sun Fresh Market at Linwood Boulevard and Prospect Avenue has closed despite receiving nearly $29 million in taxpayer funding.
www.kmbc.com
 
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Okay. Store in KC closes. Is there a point here? Surely you understand that KC and NY are not the same.

A grocer here just closed its last two stores. Stores close. Whether they receive taxpayer funds doesn't change the dynamics of retail grocery, so what exactly is your point?
 
Of course. That's why I asked what his plan was. What is unique about the NYC plan?
 
Guaranteed those paid consulting fees, etc. came out like fat cats. Grocery stores have next to nil profit margin and corrupt politicians coming to the rescue will never work, except those in the closed circle of behind closed door deals and the consultants.
 
And when people like @Michael Cole point to private stores that close, they fail to mention those stores did not receive, like Fresh Choice, 29 million in taxpayer funding.
 
VySky said:
Of course. That's why I asked what his plan was. What is unique about the NYC plan?
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KC is not NY.

Finding a store closing in KC tells us nothing about stores in NY. Indeed, it tells us nothing about stores in KC. It tells us only that this store couldn't survive. My guess would be lack of volume, but it's your thread.

Discussing Mamdani's plan is a worthy exercise. Bringing a failed KC store into the discussion is pointless.
 
VySky said:
And when people like @Michael Cole point to private stores that close, they fail to mention those stores did not receive, like Fresh Choice, 29 million in taxpayer funding.
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And this changes retail grocery dynamics in KC how? Are you claiming customers care who funds the operations? Again, you're left standing without a point.
 

Looks like the store had at least one for-profit owner at one time, so it's probably just a victim of repetitively bad management and/or market forces. If I had to guess, possibly the latter, particularly as inflation spiked. The customer base is likely low income. Perhaps there's theft going on (or not - I don't know). Perhaps it's harder to find competent management to run a low-cost grocery store, in which case government support should react to that and be applied in a way that offers better salaries.
 
Which consulting fees would those be? Are you in the right thread?

This thread is about a non-profit grocer. Non-profits don't hire high-priced consultants. Grocers tend to not need consultants, and Joe Bob donates his keen eye for endpoint display. No charge.
 
Michael Cole said:
And this changes retail grocery dynamics in KC how? Are you claiming customers care who funds the operations? Again, you're left standing without a point.
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The point is I'm sure there are citizens who are not happy their hard earned tax paying dollars were wasted so foolishly.
 
multivita-man said:
Perhaps there's theft going on (or not - I don't know). Perhaps it's harder to find competent management to run a low-cost grocery store, in which case government support should react to that and be applied in a way that offers better salaries.
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Or in other words, maybe 35 million instead of 29 million in taxpayer funding may have solved the problem?
 
Michael Cole said:
This thread is about a non-profit grocer. Non-profits don't hire high-priced consultants.
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Yet you compared the store to public operations.
 
VySky said:
The point is I'm sure there are citizens who are not happy their hard earned tax paying dollars were wasted so foolishly.
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Yeah, that's why the store failed.

Lookie here...government funded store closes...Mamdani bad

Your thread has much in common with the store.
 
VySky said:
Yet you compared the store to public operations.
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???

Because they're grocery stores. Comparing grocery stores does not change the fact that non-profits don't hire high-priced consultants. Stores close. They don't hire high-priced consultants. Very basic

One thing for sure, this thread could teach the store a thing or two about failure.
 
Oh, privately run stores never close and always make loads of money.
 
VySky said:
The point is I'm sure there are citizens who are not happy their hard earned tax paying dollars were wasted so foolishly.
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Ok, that is confusing, Are you mad that KC wasted money on a failing grocery store or are you saying that Mamdani's idea is likely to fail in the same way?

If it is the first I agree, instead of pouring money in they should have checked to see why it was failing.

If the second, one data point doesn't have any bearing on what happens in NY. You would need more information on everything to actually make a comparison.
 
Michael Cole said:
Finding a store closing in KC tells us nothing about stores in NY. Indeed, it tells us nothing about stores in KC.
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The physical location doesn't change the backwards incentives facing the government bureaucrats running the stores.

Michael Cole said:
It tells us only that this store couldn't survive. My guess would be lack of volume, but it's your thread.
Click to expand...

They want less volume, not more. No profit, remember?

Michael Cole said:
Discussing Mamdani's plan is a worthy exercise. Bringing a failed KC store into the discussion is pointless.
Click to expand...

It's highly relevant, because it's the same failed model that leftist have been trying for over 100 years now.
 
aociswundumho said:
The physical location doesn't change the backwards incentives facing the government bureaucrats running the stores.
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You work there?

aociswundumho said:
They want less volume, not more. No profit, remember?



It's highly relevant, because it's the same failed model that leftist have been trying for over 100 years now.
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Try decaf.
 
VySky said:
Or in other words, maybe 35 million instead of 29 million in taxpayer funding may have solved the problem?
Click to expand...

No, not saying that. They could have given $100 million and the outcome could have been the same. Money alone doesn't solve anything. There are scenarios in which I can see government-owned stores working, but money alone won't do it. I'd guess that the food desert has to be so expansive that whatever government-owned store there is would have to be effectively a monopoly (i.e., no competition from stores that could undercut them).

There are logistics issues, too. Security in and around the premises is an obvious concern. Ease of access to the store is another concern - is there easy, affordable transportation to and from the store? If not, then it's entirely possible that shoppers opt to spend more cash and save time by getting junk food at a convenience store. Beyond these factors, as I said, finding competent management is maybe the most important challenge.

Private sector grocery chains, particularly as the grow in size, evolve to master efficiency at scale. A single government or non-profit entity is always going to be at a disadvantage. For that reason, I tend to think that a state-wide model might be more effective than a city-owned or locally-owned non-profit. The state has more resources. They can probably pay for more professional-grade management and staff. As long as they're really selective about where they do business.
 
daeler said:
If it is the first I agree, instead of pouring money in they should have checked to see why it was failing.
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They tell you right in the video @ 0:39. They closed the store because it was losing too much money.

But I thought it was intended to be non-profit?
 
daeler said:
Ok, that is confusing, Are you mad that KC wasted money on a failing grocery store or are you saying that Mamdani's idea is likely to fail in the same way?
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Not at all because we have no idea what his plan is.

And I stated as much in the opening post, more information is indeed needed. Thus asking what his plan is.
 
Peter said:
Oh, privately run stores never close and always make loads of money.
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And they close without wasting tax payer hard earned dollars.
 
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