Amy Duncan at our sister site My Green Lake wrote this story.
Tangletown’s Meridian Market (2201 N. 56th St.) is being put up for sale. Owner Wally Wright says that he will be meeting with a broker today (Wednesday, August 11, 2010) and a listing will be available shortly.
While the entire business will be for sale, Wally says that there is another scenario that may work: if someone is interested in purchasing just the food service aspect of the business (i.e. the deli), he could maintain the grocery aspect. “It really is an ideal situation for someone,” he said. “It’s turnkey. Everything is ready to go.”
Meridian Market has been struggling since last winter, when Wally first had to cut back on staff hours and product purchases. Since then, revenues have not gone up, and he has had less and less operating cash on hand to purchase new products to put on the shelves. As shelves grow more bare, customer numbers go down and the cycle continues.
The market has been a fixture in Tangletown for three years. As of now, Wally has no plans to shut the doors before the business is sold. However, starting today, he is cutting down on operating hours and limiting staff. The market will now be open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wally will focus on maintaining stocks of bread, produce, dairy, beer, and wine.
I asked Wally if there was any other information he wanted to share with the neighborhood. “Just tell everyone thanks,” he said. “Thanks for the support.”
I was in there yesterday and it was bleak. Something was obviously up. Thanks for the scoop and all the best to Wally who sounds like a special fellow.