In December 2021, Community Builders of Kansas City became the owner of the Sun Fresh Market in the Linwood Shopping Center located at 3110 Wabash. The acquisition is in keeping with CBKC’s mission to ensure accessibility of quality food in the urban core, “We will continue to do whatever it takes to avoid a food desert in the urban core,” said Emmet Pierson, Jr., president and CEO of CBKC. “We’re all about leveling the playing field and all communities – not just suburban – deserve a best-in-class grocery shopping experience.”
The acquisition of the 38,000-square-foot grocery store brings the organization’s supermarket ownership to two locations totaling 90,000 square feet, which adds CBKC to a very short list of African American-led, full-service grocery owners in the country. In June of 2020, CBKC took over ownership and operations of Sun Fresh on Blue Parkway, located at 4209 E. 50th Terr., when the current operator announced his retirement.
CBKC transitioned operations smoothly on February 10, 2022 by hiring most existing staff who worked at the Linwood Sun Fresh with the prior operator and plans to make improvements to food selection and pricing as well as tangential services like online shopping. Healthy and organic food availability is a priority for the organization.
“Typically in urban neighborhoods you see smaller grocery stores with high prices, limited inventory, low-paid staff and few if any service offerings,” Pierson said. “CBKC’s approach is to offer nutritious foods inclusive of organic and vegan options, competitive pricing, ancillary services and market-rate pay with benefits for employees. We can bring that model, along with our diverse management team, to urban grocery stores as we move into other regions as well.”
The purchase allows for operational efficiencies between the two grocery stores and opens new markets, however, Pierson emphasized that the Sun Fresh on Linwood acquisition is not merely a business investment. At its core, CBKC is a mission-driven organization and the supermarket purchase is about meeting the needs of the store’s customers, employees and surrounding community.