(05/15/17) - Hamady Supermarkets are making a return to Flint.

Investors hope to open a store in the Hallwood Plaza by August. That is where a Kroger operated until it closed in 2014. Hamady will move in there and hire 60 to 70 people.

"We have a vast amount of people living in the area who need this service," said Spike Pearson, a Hamady investor.

When Kroger closed the doors here at Pierson near Clio nearly three years, it was a big inconvenience for people in the area, but a team of investors plans to put the Hamady name on the doors.

"This store here is going to be a very community involved store. We're going to have a restaurant. We're going to have a pharmacy here," said Jim McColgan, part of the Hamady investment team.

There are still many shelves and refrigeration units in the former Kroger.

"They left us a beautiful store. All the cases, all the cash registers," McColgan said.

The Hamady team will be hiring during the next few months.

"We are in the plans of putting a job fair together. We hope to get as many local people as possible," McColgan said.

Those who are backing the project say the north end of Flint is a food desert and the experts say a Hamady supermarket is needed.

"They've done the market analysis. They know this store will work," Pearson said.

"Hamady was a very strong name here many, many years ago and I'm sure It will be strong again," said Jim McColgan Sr.

The Hamady team will be looking for other spots in the Flint area to open more supermarkets.

"There's no reason why we can have store locations in selected areas, markets that make sense," Pearson said.

McColgan is also remodeling a supermarket on M-57 in Clio and hopes to open a Hamady at that site in the next few months.