Luna’s Groceries will end food desert in Allied Drive Neighborhood

Plans to open Dec. 24

Amanda Quintana by Amanda Quintana

Luna’s Groceries owner Mariam Maldonado is confident her full-service grocery store will be open by Christmas.

After dealing with the challenges of opening a new business and recovering from flood damage, Maldonado said she is ready to open the doors of Luna’s Groceries.

The bright orange and green building on Red Arrow Trail will house the first grocery store in the Allied Drive Neighborhood since 2009, when Cub Foods closed.

“When I need something, I can get into my car and go to ALDI or Hy-Vee. A lot of people in this neighborhood don’t have transportation,” said Maldonado.

A Walgreens attempted to solve the problem but closed in 2015.

Alderman Maurice Cheeks asked the city for funding to provide the community with taxis and bus fare, but said, “obviously that was never enough.”

“Having quality affordable food in a grocery store that’s run by neighbors who live right in the neighborhood is a dream come true,” said Cheeks.

This bright, freshly-painted building in the Allied Drive Neighborhood will be the first grocery store in the area since 2009. Luna’s Groceries will make fresh produce available to a neighborhood that has been called a food desert for years. It’s set to open on Dec 24. #news3 pic.twitter.com/WP1Pi2dlKv — Amanda Quintana (@AmandaQTV) November 21, 2018

The city has been working for years to make sure a grocery store would have the resources it needed, including funding a market study to see if the neighborhood could support a store of this size.

Madison’s Healthy Retail Access Program gave Luna’s Groceries more than $157,000, the largest amount given from the program.

“We have enough people (in the neighborhood) for this store to be a success, even if no one from the outside comes, which is kind of great that I have that niche. But I want people from everywhere to come,” said Maldonado.

Luna’s will feature a deli and butcher shop, along with a produce and freezer section. It will also sell beer and wine.

Maldonado, who moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in 2004, said she will have plantains and other foods that represent her Dominican culture to cater to the city’s most diverse district.

“Hopefully people will develop the love for platanos. I’m also going to have things that my sisters and brothers from Mexico can buy or for my African American friends,” she said.

She also hopes to eventually start offering cooking classes that feature meals from different cultures.

The community has raised almost $30,000 through a GoFundMe to help Maldonado with building costs.

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