Business application under review for retail store in Louisville's Portland neighborhood

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new business could be coming to the Portland neighborhood.

On December 3, 2024, RA Foodmart submitted an application for the business that would be located at the corner of 25th and West Market Streets.

Martha Jackson grew up in the Portland neighborhood. She's excited to see life brought back into the gray, vacant building across from her TARC bus stop.

"It lifts the whole neighborhood," Martha Jackson said. "Everything is coming together."

That application is still under review, according to the Louisville Metro Business Portal. The application states the owner, Rozina Weldegebriel, plans to "launch this business as a retail store to sell groceries, packaged alcohol beverages such as beer, and other essential products and services."

Weldegebriel is a former chef for Kroger. She said she hopes to have the corner store open in the next few weeks.

"I am in the process of getting a license to open a food mart from the City and in the meantime, I am renovating this building," she said. "My plan is to make this building ready by the first week of March. So to highlight what kind of services and products, I will start the business with limited essential products due to resource constraints. Once I have necessary equipment and with experience as a chef at Kroger for several years, I will be providing not only selling products but also fresh foods such as Pizza, sandwiches and other cooked products with affordable prices to surrounding communities.

"We've got the store coming up, and we've got a brand new daycare in the neighborhood," Jackson said. "It's all in the same block. It's great!"

We've reached out to Councilwoman Donna Purvis, who represents the Portland neighborhood in District 5, for comment.

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