Brown’s Fresh Grocer at Monument

Reinvestment Fund financed the construction of a new Brown’s Fresh Grocer in Philadelphia. Brown’s Super Stores renovated a former Pathmark store in a USDA Low Income Low Access area.

The new Brown’s Fresh Grocer at Monument Road sits in the Wynnefield Heights neighborhood in Philadelphia, a community that is considered a USDA Low Income Low Access area. This area has a median family income of 62.5% of Area Median Income (AMI) and a 20% poverty rate. The operator, Brown’s Super Stores, purchased the former Pathmark store and renovated the facility into an energy efficient Fresh Grocer.

Reinvestment Fund provided a leverage loan for the NMTC transaction that will construct the store. Capital for Reinvestment Fund loan included $500,000 from federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), $4 million from the PA Fresh Food Finance Initiative (PA FFFI), $2.39 million from Reinvestment Fund’s Core Loan Fund, and $3 million participation from Boston Community Capital.

The 57,000-square-foot Fresh Grocer is a full-service store with a large emphasis on providing fresh products at low prices. The store also created at least 157 jobs, of which 25% were former Pathmark employees who had lost their jobs in the A&P bankruptcy.

This is Brown’s 13th store and its second Fresh Grocer location. Owner Jeff Brown and his company have been recognized as national leaders in serving low-income communities and attributes their success to community engagement, employment of local residents, and the customization of stores to reflect the local diversity.