Harmons breaking mold with its downtown Salt Lake store
By Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune
Harmons will break ground today on the state’s first large urban grocery store, on the eastern edge of the giant City Creek revitalization project in downtown Salt Lake City.
As the first full-service grocery in the central business district, The City Creek Harmons at 135 E. 100 South is set for completion in fall 2011.
Today’s ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m. will include Bob and Randy Harmon, co-owners and grandsons of the chain’s founders; Mayor Ralph Becker; and H. David Burton, presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose real-estate arm is developing the mixed-use project just a few steps from Temple Square.
In October 2006, leaders asked the Utah-based Harmons chain to build a store for the planned, City Creek community that would rise on two city blocks and feature a mix of retail, residential and office development.
Befitting its urban environment, “our new store will be very different looking from the traditional Harmons stores,” said Bob Harmon, the chain’s vice president. “Instead of Harmon’s familiar solid brick design, City Creek will have expansive glass exteriors, to be in line with downtown ordinances.”
Unlike its other stores, parking will be atop the new structure, similar to urban markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles, said Harmon. Shoppers will be given validations for free parking on two upper levels.
Hours will be the same as the chain’s 13 other locations, 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.
The City Creek store will be about 40 percent smaller than Harmons’ other upscale supermarkets. The 43,000-square-foot grocery will be built on two levels — with separate entrances on Social Hall Avenue and around the corner, on 100 South. The ground floor, accessed on 100 South, will open into a floral department and feature local foods, a deli, gourmet cheese island, salad and olive bars, meat counter and pharmacy. Above that, the 18,000-square-foot mezzanine will stock gourmet kitchenware, and feature cooking classrooms, a coffee and Italian gelato bar, a credit union and a dining area with tables, couches, fireplace and Wi-Fi access.
The layout is similar to the chain’s Bangerter Crossing store in Draper, which also has two levels and views.
“Our goal is to squeeze all that we do in our other stores into the City Creek store,” said Dean Peterson, the chain’s CEO and president. “We’ll do fresh foods in a big way there, as we do in all our stores.”
City Creek will have the same on-site staffs, including chefs, butchers, bakers and food experts, who will prepare Harmon’s made-from scratch foods, said Peterson. The meals should appeal to lunchtime crowds, who may linger to pick up groceries before the commute home.
For those who live near downtown, the store is expected to be a welcome addition.
“I won’t have to drive so far to do my shopping,” said Amber Wood, 29, who resides in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. “And I’m glad it’ll be a Harmons store. I like their meats, and they have decent sales.”
Barbara Lindley, 29, who lives in the lower Avenues, said she hasn’t shopped at Harmons because stores are too far away. But she has heard from friends about its cheeses, deli and salad and coffee bars.
“The store will be within walking distance for me. It’ll be great to grab a bite to eat, and do my shopping.”
The design and construction teams for the City Creek store were Okland Construction; Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLC; Prescott Muir Architects; City Creek Reserve Inc.; MHTN Architects; and Spectrum Engineers and Professional Engineering Services.
City Creek will be Harmons 15th store, opening just behind its Davis County location at Farmington Station, scheduled to open May 1. Each store employs 150 to 200 workers. Last year, the chain’s 2,400 employees were paid $63 million in wages, salaries, benefits and training.
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