Grocery store might reopen in Saxonburg
SAXONBURG — The North Carolina grocery distributor that now owns the former Friedman's Freshmarket in Saxonburg is in discussions to sell the 27,500-square-foot building to a buyer who would return it to a full-service supermarket.
Shawn Beichler, the general manager and vice president of real estate for Alex Lee Inc. in Hickory, N.C., would not divulge the person or company he is in talks with, but he did say Monday discussions have been ongoing for three or four weeks.
“We would like to see a grocery store go in there, yes,” Beichler said.
If no deal is made, Merchants Distributors Inc. (MDI) will list the building for sale with a real estate company, Beichler said.
The store has sat idle since January 2018, when it was closed by Carole Bitter, the owner of Harold Friedman Inc. The Chicora and Greater Butler Mart stores were also closed at that time.
Alex Lee is the parent company of MDI, also of Hickory, which sued Bitter in January 2018 for failing to make payments on a loan and mortgage she took out in October 2016.
Bitter immediately countersued MDI, claiming its unacceptable practices destroyed the 125-year-old business that her father started in Butler with a produce cart.
The lawsuit dragged on and was finally closed in March by Judge Arthur Schwab of federal court in Pittsburgh. MDI's position that Bitter failed to uphold her end of the contract was confirmed by Schwab.
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