In less than a month downtown Pontiac will have a grocery store, one with fresh foods, take-out lunch and dinner, a butcher, a cafe with coffee and baked goods and wide selection of merchandise like nothing the downtown has seen in years.
The 10,000-square-foot
The Layfayette Market will be run by Chris Monette, who's managed a successful market at Oakland University, and is part of the larger
Lafayette Place Lofts, a project of developer Kyle Westberg's
West Construction Services.
Next door to the market, which is at 154 N. Saginaw, will be an Anytime Fitness, and above the two businesses will be 46 loft apartments. It's all inside the former Sears Department Store, a behemoth of a building that's been closed for years. The structure has historic architectural components that are being incorporated into the renovation, including the market's wood floors, which are original.
The Lafayette Market will open Saturday, Nov. 17, and the apartments are expected to be completed in December. The market and lofts are close to Oakland McLaren Oakland Hospital.
In the meantime there is an effort to learn what the community wants in the store through an online survey.
"The community is very excited about this," says spokesperson Corinne Petras. "But the survey is to make sure it's clear what the community wants."
Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Corinne Petras, spokesperson, Lafayette Lofts
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